KUALA LUMPUR – The DAP today urged the Malaysian government to lodge diplomatic protests over Israel’s cruel actions on the people of Gaza, Palestine.

Its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said Wisma Putra (the Foreign Ministry) should make vehement protests on Israel’s actions to the United States and the United Nations so that the violence perpetrated against the people of Gaza was stopped forthwith.

“DAP condemns Israel’s using its military might disproportionately to the rocket attacks from Palestinian fighters. Israel’s aggression on Gaza always brings unnecessary deaths and damage to property,” he said in a statement here today.

At least 30 people have been killed and scores others injured, including women and children, in Israel’s latest airstrikes on the Gaza Strip which began on Wednesday.

Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza and the brutal killings of innocent Palestinians. The incessant shelling of whatever that is left of the Palestinian homeland is a gross violation of international law and constitutes acts of cold blooded murder.

We categorically condemn these blatant acts of aggression and call on the international community to do whatever that is necessary to put an end to the violence. The continued bombardment and the calling up of 75,000 reservists constitute a grave threat to peace and stability in the region.

We would reiterate the warning by both Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi that serious consequences would ensue if Israel follows up with its threat of a ground offensive.

Take clear moral stand

President Barack Obama must act immediately and decisively to put to an end to the increasing tension in the region by making it clear to Israel that their continued acts of aggression and the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza will have severe implications not just for the region but for international peace and stability.

All peace loving nations must take a clear moral stand on this issue and pressure Israel to cease its brutal, inhumane and oppressive actions against the people of Gaza, already marginalized for years and since 2006, unfairly penalised by the Western powers for having elected Hamas to power.

DAP is the worst political party EVER. We still have APARTHEID of BUMIPUTRA here in Malaysia and DAP wants to target Israel AN ENTIRE country embroiled in decades of war instead? GTFO of Dewan DAP! End apartheid and unequal citizenships first then talk about Israel. If DAP can’t even walk as equals among Malaysians, DAP has no business talking about Israel. DAP is run by nepotistic term limitless idiots.

Also selected comments from another media site confirm DAP’s irrelevance to Malaysian politics and lack of interest in Human Rights locally (DAP accepts 2nd class citizenships but wants to fight the 10th Crusade on the side of Muslims? Obama didn’t get through to Anwar now did he? PKR has not spoken against apartheid or ensured Article 18 of the Human Rights Charter but wants to berate Obama on Palestine? Send in the marines!

Sunday, 18 November 2012 12:28 posted by Malaysian

DAP is barking up the wrong tree. It is now supporting aggressors. Hamas knew that the rocket attacks on Israel would get a strong response if they kept it up long enough. Were they thinking of the wellbeing of the Palestinians in this case? I think not. Like many in the world community, DAP has now been drawn into condemning Israel’s right to defend itself while conveniently forgetting that it was Hamas who started the violence. Can we have some common sense here, or is it too much to ask of DAP on this issue?

Sunday, 18 November 2012 14:38 posted by CorruptWorld

The corrupt and dictatorial leaderships in the middle east nations are fearful of the momentum of “the Arab Spring”. Rhetorica against Iran’s nuclear program, Iran supports Asad of Syria n militants in Iraq, Hezbollah meddling in Labenon, all year long Hamas firing rockets into Isreal, Isreal heavy response….these are planned political, big arms deals and corruption from bottom to top maneuvers by the leaders in West and East to divert or kill off the middle east peoples’ uprising and yearn for freedom and change of governments. Both, Isreal and Hamas are to blame for escalating tensions and hardship on their own people’s. When peace is near and real, they both acting up again. The ruling Government of Isreal is not true Jews as with Hamas is not true Muslims.

Sunday, 18 November 2012 22:31 posted by dominic

This is the second call from PR leaders . I have yet to see any call for Hamas to immediately cease their un-provocative shelling of Israel . Any disagreement is best settled on the round table instead of lobbing mortars and missles to gander international support and attention . Any peace at all need both side to abide collectively. No one party can go in alone !

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Drop the Israel-Palestine B.S.. . . ARE YOU A MINORITY living in Malaysia @dominic? If there is no equal standing locally for 40% of the population, stop talking about a country half a world away and handle the local issues first, Malaysia is half a Trillion in debt and has apartheid issues, this Israel-Palestine conflict is the work of SUPERPOWERS, and China and India are modest enough to keep their distance to let Russia and USA handle this, not even England or the EU want to get involved and here we have BN or Pakatan making alot of noise on the side . . . can’t even have equality, country in serious debt, can’t end Apartheid, and want to target the Middle East issues? Malaysian citizens as unfocused as Malaysian politicians, backyard issues first!

ARTICLE 2

The Ipoh boy who spoke no English… and rose to be Chief Justice – Sunday, 18 November 2012 08:29

This is an excerpt of a tribute delivered by Law Minister K. Shanmugam in Parliament on Monday to Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, who retired on Nov 6.

SINGAPORE’S constitutional framework enshrines the rule of law, the independence of the courts and the separation of powers.

The Constitution establishes the Judiciary as a separate and independent institution, and charges it with the responsibility to interpret the law and apply it to cases which come before the courts.

At the head of the Judiciary is the Chief Justice. Through his judgments and extra-judicial writings, his presidency over appellate hearings and even his personal conduct, the Chief Justice sets the tone for the administration of justice in Singapore.

It is a heavy responsibility, and Singapore has been singularly fortunate that, for the past six years, that responsibility has been discharged by Chief Justice Chan.

Humble background

THE Chief Justice came from a humble background. He lived in a communal house in Ipoh, started his education late because of the war, and could not speak English when he first went to school.

But adversity did not slow him down. He was one of the top students in the Senior Cambridge School Certificate in 1955, with eight distinctions.

He could not decide what to read at university. He was not thinking of doing law – he had no idea what a legal career would be like. Happily for Singapore, he was persuaded to do law by his English literature teacher, Dr Etherton, who said that he had a “very crafty mind” – in a good sense.

Chief Justice Chan joined the inaugural LL.B. class of 1961 in the then University of Malaya, and was one of the top students in a class that produced several other students who went on to hold high positions in the law.

Private practice

CHIEF Justice Chan practised briefly in Kuala Lumpur before joining Braddell Brothers in Singapore in 1963. He did so because he wanted to continue to be with then his girlfriend, Elisabeth Eber, whom he later married.

Later, the Chief Justice joined Shook Lin & Bok, where he rose to become the managing partner and one of Singapore’s leading banking and corporate lawyers, with a complete mastery of the law and a keen understanding of commercial and practical realities.

He was the counsel of choice for many banks and financial institutions, and drafted many of the standard banking and corporate documents used throughout Singapore in the late 1970s and in the 1980s.

The Chief Justice never hid behind verbiage. I once had to advise on a guarantee which was drafted by the Chief Justice. It comprised two paragraphs, in a telex. The party which challenged the validity of the guarantee – perhaps because it looked too short to be a guarantee! – later backed down. Though brief, the document was clear and accurate. That was the hallmark of the Chief Justice: in the way he gave his advice, in the way he drafted documents and in the way he wrote his judgments.

Judicial commissioner and judge

CHIEF Justice Chan was appointed a Judicial Commissioner in 1986 – the first person to be so appointed. He was later elevated to be a Judge in 1988.

During his first judicial tenure, from 1986 to 1992, the Chief Justice demonstrated the independence of mind and the keenness of analysis that lawyers today are familiar with. In this period, he heard a fair number of public law cases, and, in his own words, “the decisions are fairly divided between those decided for and against the Government”.

It was during this period that I started my own career in the law. In 1987, I appeared as a junior, with Mr Joseph Grimberg, in a case before the Chief Justice. The precedents were not clear. While Mr Grimberg was making his arguments, the Chief Justice somehow noticed – I don’t know how, perhaps it showed in my face – that I was keen for a point to be made. He asked Mr Grimberg to ask me what the point was. I was quite struck that the Chief Justice noticed everything in his court – he was so alert that he even picked up on the thought processes of a junior, and pursued the point.

His handling of the case, both in the way he conducted the hearing, as well as his legal analysis, left a deep impression on me.

He had an excellent judicial temperament – no flourish, no hyperbole, no drama. He always cut to the chase, succinct. He was usually well ahead of counsel and on top of all the issues – a first-rate, world-class judicial mind.

Attorney-General

IN 1992, Chief Justice Chan was appointed the third Attorney-General of Singapore.

As Public Prosecutor, he had the constitutional responsibility for instituting and conducting prosecutions. He acted firmly and in the public interest. At the same time, he was fair to the accused.

He enhanced the capabilities of the Attorney-General’s Chambers by strengthening the Civil and Criminal Divisions, and setting up the International Affairs Division and the Law Reform and Law Revision Division. His successors have built on this strong foundation, and today the AGC has a full- fledged team of first-rate lawyers, numbering about 250.

As Attorney-General, and later as Chief Justice, Chief Justice Chan played a leading role in the Pedra Branca litigation.

He presented our case before the International Court of Justice in a very clear manner, together with Professor S. Jayakumar, Professor Tommy Koh and others. The ICJ decisively upheld Singapore’s sovereignty over Pedra Branca. Chief Justice’s personal interests – he is a keen student of history – helped substantially in presenting Singapore’s case. His collection of South-east Asian history books, one of the largest in Singapore, was extensively used for the ICJ hearing.

Chief Justice

Mr Chan was appointed as Chief Justice in 2006. The appointment was received with great enthusiasm by the legal community.

Chan Sek Keong the Chief Justice was very much like Chan Sek Keong the man – humble, unassuming, with a powerful intellect and a keen sense of integrity.

Outside of the courtroom, Chief Justice Chan demanded that lawyers meet the highest standards of professional conduct, and took decisive measures to safeguard clients’ monies from errant lawyers. He constantly encouraged the legal fraternity, from Senior Counsel to law student, to do more pro bono work, to improve access to justice for the less fortunate amongst us.

He started the Young Amicus Curiae scheme where young lawyers could assist Judges hearing Magistrate’s Appeals, and expose themselves to criminal work.

He stressed the need for top- tier advocacy in commercial cases. He observed that top Senior Counsel were often retained by large institutions, rendering them unable or unavailable to act against such institutions. The result was that small law firms and individual clients who wanted representation against large institutions could not instruct Senior Counsel. He thus advocated that Queen’s Counsel be allowed to appear more freely in our courts, so that small law firms and individual clients can instruct them.

As a judge, Chief Justice believed that “judgments should be expressed in a language that a reasonably educated layman can understand”, and indeed his judgments stand out for their clarity and simple elegance.

He believed in procedural fairness, that “litigants must come away from the court with the feeling that even though they lost, they have had their day in court and have been heard”.

He believed that the function of judges was to interpret and to apply the law, and not to legislate or make policy in the guise of adjudication. In that sense, he was a legal positivist.

At the same time, he believed that judges had a role in developing the law interstitially, consonant with national values and fundamental principles of the common law.

To promote the practice development of Singapore law, he issued a Practice Direction that Singapore cases should be cited in preference to foreign cases. In the course of his judicial career, he wrote almost 380 judgments, or more than 30 a year. His judgments, which span many areas of the law, will continue to influence our jurisprudence for many years to come.

He believed in justice for the common man. Above all, the Chief Justice was a firm believer in the rule of law and the duty of the court to uphold the law. In a lecture in 2010, he offered a robust rebuke to those who doubted the independence of the Judiciary.

When the boy from Ipoh came to Singapore to study, settle down and start a career in the law, it was Singapore which ultimately benefited.

Any legal professional that has sat by and watched the lack of the above, is a ‘boy’ . . . Ipoh or wherever from . . . not a MAN who challenges the APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA for the mere right to equality. Any Malaysian who RAN AWAY from Malaysia to Singapore, and not spoken a word against apartheid despite reaching such high status is a very cynical person, especially when no-longer holding posts or active in government.

‘While still at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), he was frequently asked about the Internal Security Act (ISA) — a law that enables the government to detain people without trial. The issue also recently grabbed headlines when the Catholic Archbishop of Singapore retracted a letter of support he sent to activist group Function 8, when it organised an event earlier this year calling for its abolition. Asked for his views on more controversial detentions in Singapore’s history, including Operation Coldstore in 1963 and Operation Spectrum in 1987, he felt it inappropriate to offer comment on specific incidents in the past because he was not privy to the specific security considerations applicable to them. With clearer knowledge of the situation between 2008 and 2011, however, Shanmugam is certain of the overarching rationale for the Act in the current international security environment — that ultimately it acts as a preventive measure where security threats are discovered on classified intelligence.

With the days of mass, high-profile detentions a thing of the past, though, whether the law should stay or not, he feels, all boils down to the evaluation of which of two risks Singapore is more prepared to take. “(The ISA) gives the power to the government to detain people without going through the due process of the courts. Once you have such a structure, is there a possibility of abuse? Of course… so that’s the risk,” he acknowledged. However, he pointed out, “Society has got to decide between that risk, or the risk that an incident might actually occur, and then you have to ask yourself, ‘What are the consequences of each of the two risks materialising? What is the impact on Singapore?’ and then people have to choose.” Shanmugam explained that where Singapore lacks in natural resources, it makes up for in a clean ecosystem that is friendly to businesses.’

Propagandist Indian raised into high stature, now here supporting draconian laws, and know that Shanmugam is present only for token multiracialism. Singapore is not friendly to business, but only acts as a money laundering front and military base of sorts centered around a CIVILIAN JUNTA around the nepotistic Lee family . . .

How can he compare to our wealthy, hollywood handsome pedigree and powerful Minister Nazari. Even Nazari son can afford to wear a million dollar watch. Can this S’porean(ex M’sian) CJ do likewise.

Aiyah, our Minister Nazari is 1st class conman – con his own people and also con everybody that there is nothing wrong in $40 million fiasco involving Michael Chia & Musa. By the way, sorry lah people like Justice Chan is not wanted by Malaysia. Smart people in Malaysia is a liability. They complain too much about UMNO’s brand of government. Too many smart people, where to cari makan.

Sunday, 18 November 2012 20:52 posted by Oran Utan

You guys still don’t get it do you? For UMNO this is all about Ketuanan Melayu, it is never about Meritocracy. And some you you hit a nail in the coffin, with his type of resume he will never get a job in Bolehland.

Talent corp is wasting taxpayers money and time, how do you expect to attract Malaysian Talents back and retain them when you cannot guarantee a future for these talents. Meritocracy, performance and opportunity for promotions and business opportunities are one of the main key criteria to stay back in Ketuanan Melayu land. So UMNO don’t take us for a ride with your Talent Corp bullshit. All I can see is that Talent Corp is another gimmick to siphon Taxpayers money.

Sunday, 18 November 2012 10:58 posted by Ibrahim

He acted firmly and in the public interest. ..

An excellent tribute. In Malaysia, if we can get 10% of the qualities mentioned in this tribute, we would be honored. Esp. When that Mamak who is really a Syaitan, tore the independence, professionalism & integrity of the Malaysian Judiciary to pieces.

Now we have only a Judiciary and AG Chambers completely compromised and without any more conscience esp. when Dealing with dissent and opposition to UMNO.

Following a public uproar to the widespread crackdown on two pro-democracy rallies held by electoral reform movement Bersih 2.0, Najib has taken great pains to improve civil liberties in Malaysia. — File pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak signed ASEAN’s first human rights declaration (AHRD) in Cambodia today, officially committing Malaysia to its first foreign convention to promote fair treatment of every individual irrespective of race, religion and political opinion.

Today’s signing, which took place during the 21st ASEAN Summit at the Peace Palace in the capital city of Phnom Penh, comes at an opportune time for Malaysia and the Barisan Nasional (BN) government led by Najib, which has come under close international scrutiny for its alleged mishandling of several recent human rights issues.

“ASEAN shall pursue the protection and promotion of human rights in the region in our own way and also try to maintain the highest standard as expressed in various declarations and instruments of the international community,” ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan was quoted as saying in The Star Online.

According to media reports, the AHRD has a total of 40 clauses and covers areas like civil and political rights, economic, social ad cultural rights, developmental processes and peace enhancement.

The declaration also states that the rights of women, children, elderly and disabled persons and migrant workers are integral and indivisible part of human rights and fundamental freedom, The Star reported.

Najib has found himself in the international spotlight on numerous occasions, taking the hit for his administration’s alleged heavy-handedness in dealing with matters concerning civil freedom, individual rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association.

Some key examples include the widespread crackdown on two pro-democracy rallies held by electoral reform movement Bersih 2.0 — one on July 9, 2011, and another on April 28 this year — which resulted in scene of chaos and violence on the streets of this usually peaceful capital city.

To dull the uproar, however, Najib has taken great pains to improve civil liberties in Malaysia, even agreeing to repeal the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Sedition Act, enacting a new law to regulate public gatherings, agreeing to allow student participation in politics and relaxing provisions in laws governing press freedom.

But after the last protest on April 28, foreign media reports predicted that the government’s handling of the event would likely undermine Najib’s image as a reformist and force the prime minister to delay the next general election.

Several newswires, picked up by major newspapers globally, also took the same stance, with Reuters reporting that police action raised “the risk of a political backlash that could delay national polls which had been expected as early as June.”

Agence France-Presse also said that “the rally poses a dilemma for Najib, who since last year’s crackdown has sought to portray himself as a reformer, launching a campaign to repeal authoritarian laws in a bid to create what he called ‘the greatest democracy’.”

Several reports pointed to the first Bersih rally held just months before the March 2008 elections, which saw BN record its worst electoral performance ever, ceding its customary two-thirds supermajority in Parliament and five state governments.

Najib took over from Tun Abdullah Badawi a year later, ostensibly to improve on the results and some observers say only a return to two-thirds majority will guarantee he remains Umno president.

Widespread condemnation from the international press of Putrajaya’s crack down on last July’s Bersih rally saw Najib announce a raft of reforms including a parliamentary select committee on electoral reforms and the Peaceful Assembly Act, a major concession to win back an alienated middle-class.

But the findings of a bipartisan panel have been criticised as cosmetic by civil society and the opposition and yesterday’s planned sit-in was the first major test of the new law regulating demonstrations the BN chief says abides by “international norms”.

The foreign press had at the time also widely carried global civil liberties watchdog Human Rights Watch’s criticism of the government, saying it showed “contempt for its people’s basic rights and freedoms.”

“Despite all the talk of ‘reform’ over the past year, we’re seeing a repeat of repressive actions by a government that does not hesitate to use force when it feels its prerogatives are challenged,” said Phil Robertson, its deputy Asia director.

Apart from Bersih, the BN administration has also earned itself international condemnation for bringing charges of sexual misconduct and sodomy against Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim numerous occasions, a move that the leader’s supporters have claimed was merely to stifle his campaign to topple the ruling pact.

Several cases of deaths in custody over the past few years had also cast the government in the spotlight for alleged human rights abuses. One example is the death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock, whose death, which occurred while he was under the care of anti-graft officials, has continued to haunt the government since 2009.

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But the Bar Council gets no flak eh? The Bar Council needs to hammer BN too, even sue BN for APARTHEID and lack of :

Najib alone cannot be blamed but is definitely complicit. If all other agencies did their work, Najib would be out of work. UN needs to address the bunch of racists affecting Najib’s judgment. Signing this does not change the above 3 lacks. Bar Council being so supposedly educated and ‘legal’ can see this. Act yet? Or still waiting for moi to sue the Malaysian Government?

(TMI) — Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang appeared today to admit that PAS may never entirely abandon its plans to impose hudud for Muslims and had only softened its approach on the matter as the Islamist party knew it could not rule without its non-Muslim allies in Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

But the PAS president offered his word that if implemented, the controversial Islamic penal code would not be imposed on the non-Muslims, shooting down a suggestion yesterday by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“And the rights of non-Muslims are allowed by their own religion … for example, liquor is allowed by their religion … although it is haram in Islam, it is still their right.”

Dr Mahathir had stepped into the hudud fray yesterday, challenging the party to implement hudud for all, including the non-Muslims, in order to be fair.

During the stretch of the party’s annual meet this weekend, the PAS leadership seemed to deliberately dodge the issue of hudud and the party’s Islamic state ideals, moving instead to appear more inclusive with slogans that advocate religious tolerance and acceptance.

But the party’s religious conservatives in the ulama wing and youth members insisted on raising the controversial issue, which has put a strain on PAS’ ties with PR ally DAP.

In his policy speech at the opening of the muktamar, Abdul Hadi focussed on PAS’ plans to improve Malaysia’s economy should PR come to power and skirted around hudud and the implementation of the Islamic state.

But the veteran politician could not avoid the matter today, after PAS continued to find itself the target of critics who complained of the party’s apparent failure to stick to its ideals.

He would not expressly state if PAS would push ahead with its hudud agenda but appeared to suggest that the matter had to be shelved for the sake of its non-Muslim partners in PR.

“We want to rule a country, if it’s just PAS, then it will be impossible (for us) to rule,” he told reporters.

The Marang MP’s remarks today will likely draw more criticism from PAS’ political foes who have often accused the party of straying from its Islamic ideals and bowing down to its allies for the sake of wresting federal power.

PAS also reiterated today that there is no friction between the party and DAP, with which they have gone into collision course on issues such as Islamic state and hudud.

“Don’t equate them disagreeing over hudud, with them rejecting (Islam). It is not the same.”

Abdul Hadi’s statements came after PAS’s religious wing continued to reaffirm its stand on hudud, insisting that it should be implemented if the party wins a significant majority in the next election.

“So far, hudud is still relevant,” said Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamad, the Deputy Chief of PAS Ulama wing during the closing speech at the muktamar.

“We will implement hudud in a democratic system if we win a lot of seats. It is not impossible that hudud can be implemented in Malaysia.”

Mahfodz reminded the PAS leadership that they should not forget Islam and hudud while they fight through the next campaign stage to reach Putrajaya.

“A ‘benevolent state’ must be based on the Quran, sunnah and ijtihad … not the -isms which contradict Islam,” he added.

This remark followed the information chief for the women’s wing, Aiman Athirah’s call for delegates to work harder so that PAS can lead Pakatan Rakyat (PR), and for President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to be elected as the prime minister if the party wins in the next election.

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Dials? Whats that an NLP ‘trigger word’, code? Anyway, good to hear that Hudud might not be summarily imposed on Malaysians BUT . . .

Hadi may want to consider if Muslims will be allowed Article 18 of the UN Human Rights Charter rights to Apostasy, and the Non-Muslims will be allowed EQUALITY in all aspects of Law and Constitution, and also for non-Muslims to have RLD and Gambling districts in suitable places in state capitals of appropriate size AS WELL as OPZs (Organic Psychedelic Zones) like Amsterdam has. There are SERIOUS gaps in Hadi’s address and acceptance of PMship, which while tolerable if the above issues are made clear, cannot precede PAS taking up the mantle of the ruling party much less neglect Orang Asli stolen land issues as well as forced conversions of non-Muslims, continuation of Bumiputra Aparthied (perhaps INCLUDE all non-Malays and non-Muslims of a certain wealth level who are willing to apply BUT under no sneak conversion tactics or attempts at proselytization) etc..

Conversely Bumiputra Apartheid could be ended entirely, millions worth Bumi should not get any discounts or special privileges at all, while the poor non-Muslim and non-Malays in fact should. This is a money issue and to ignore politics of non-Muslim rights and equality, this becomes a display of PAS’s inward lookingness and sheer neglect of common sense and civilisation that a PM of any country needs. No problem if Hadi is made PM, but not without address of the above which are innate rights of ALL MANKIND and neglected for oppressive purposes for decades in Malaysia. Malaysia is a single country within the nations of a world, and not a very large or powerful country, needs to address issues as above.

To show he meant business, PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hasan yesterday laid bare his personal assets during the winding down speech at the wing’s muktamar.

Nasrudin, 42, declared that he and his wife, a teacher, both draw an income of RM2,800 and RM4,000 respectively.

He also declared that he had RM9,000 in his bank account.

Out of his monthly RM2,800 income, RM2,500 is allowance from the party for his duties as PAS Youth chief while RM300 is rental income.

The father of six also tabled the breakdown of his monthly expenses comprising of a home loan at RM530 and his vehicle for which he pays RM1,400 monthly.

“Meanwhile my wife is paying loan for her own house at RM1,230 a month. These are the assets I am declaring, that I owned, as a gimmick for the assets declaration proposal, insha Allah that will be followed by all PAS Youth exco members,” he said.

PAS Youth had earlier announced that its executive council members including those not contesting in the coming general election would have to declare their assets.

During the opening of PAS Youth’s general meeting, party deputy president Mohamad Sabu gave his commitment to turn the proposal into a reality, but reminded that assets declaration must also be made at the end of one’s office term.

-Harakahdaily

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Don’t do the Rakyat no favours. Declaring assets is NOTHING AT ALL. Try ending apartheid or extreme religion and even distributing land or housing to the poor OF ALL RACES. Assets only? Big deal? At end of term? WORSE deal. Hiding ‘abit’ is hiding all the same. Why not declare NOW instead of months away so that ‘assets’ can be hidden by then? Who cares if assets are declared AFTER the term? BEFORE the term starts would be meaningful for asset declarations, but ONLY AFTER terms end? Cynical and obviously stalling for time.

ARTICLE 6

Possibly inaccurate but will post to see if any response that can clarify . . .

Theory? Or Truth?

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My theory based guess is that drugs are in fact USED by politicians to astrally project so that they can peek in on others and gain advantage against them, if not illegal cams have been installed everywhere already. Look at the colours the podium speaker is wearing here, Rasta colours. Who knows those with minds too strong will be targeted by GOVERNMENT, or political drug users, which possibly are typical of ALL so-called or organized religions. The hierarchy of religions could well be based around drug taking and hence the desire to illegalise drugs so that the will of the world becomes that of their narrow limited and religious biased one. Perhaps these are not religious men, perhaps these are ADDICTS intent on religious and political control using drugs as a weapon of choice. Please feel free to discuss if the premise is off, or warn to remove if considered offensive – suggestions of a more suitable repost will be appreciated if needed.

A GROUP of transvestites in revealing outfits was detained by religious authorities for trying to offer sexual services.

Sinar Harian reported that they were spotted waiting for customers in Pandan Indah, Kuala Lumpur.

The six transvestites ran helter-skelter when they saw an enforcement team from the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) and officers from the Al-Azim mosque making their rounds at 5am on Thursday.

It was learnt the transvestites charged as low as RM50.

Al-Azim mosque officer Ahmad Nawi Osman said some of the transvestites suffered light injuries when they fell while running up a flight of stairs.

“All of them, aged between 20 and 38, were arrested,” he said, adding that one transvestite disclosed that it was difficult to find work and gain acceptance in society, causing him to resort to such a job.

> Kosmo! reported that the body of a missing two-year-old boy had been found. The body was believed to have been partly eaten by a monitor lizard.

Hadziq Hassan, missing since last Saturday, was found in Segaliud, Sandakan, on Wednesday night.

A surveyor, who was working in the area, made the discovery.

The boy was reported missing at Batu 25, Kampung Garinono after he and his family attended a relative’s wedding in Kampung Manis.

His body was found about 3km from the relative’s house.

Sandakan OCPD Asst Comm Rowell Marong said the body was identified by his family and was sent to the Duchess of Kent Hospital for an autopsy.

> A total of 26 foreign women, including four underaged girls, were detained by the Negri Sembilan Immigration Department for allegedly working as guest relations officers, reported Harian Metro.

The four Vietnamese girls, aged between 14 and 16, were believed to have been tricked into taking up the job at an entertainment centre in Seremban.

State immigration director Faizal Fazri Othman said three of the four girls entered the country using a visitor’s pass while the other girl used a student pass.

Other News & Views is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this > sign, it denotes a separate news item.

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Adult services are a human right of non-Muslims and if these transpersons were not Muslim, they should be left alone at least while legal action to ensure proper zones are assigned for such activities for non-Muslims. Luck? These are human rights abuses.

However, he acknowledged that Nik Aziz had been advised by his doctor to go for a check-up every day to treat a “prostate problem”.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

A potential core elite of statesmen, at least in ensuring of separation of powers. Karpal unfortunately represents endemic nepotism and limitless terms as well. Hence Sallehuddin and Datuk Mahfuz Omar have become that much more statesmanlike (do these exceptions stand AGAINST Hudud?) If so, we might be looking at future PMs . . . ) than Karpal, even if the above suggestion which came from moi, was taken up by Karpal. TERM LIMITS and NO FAMILY BLOCS ‘KARPAL’. Any ‘Karipap’ (or Al-Karipap? Karpal . . . ) seller could run for election and win, simply by democratic considerations against nepotism and limitless terms of Karpal and sons. This is GOVERNMENT not a family business.

The Malaysian police know I live in Manchester. Malaysians in the UK know I live in Manchester. Malaysians in Australia, New Zealand, the US, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc., know I live in Manchester. The Malaysian High Commission in London and the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur know I live in Manchester. Only Victor Lim alone thinks I live in Dr Mahathir’s apartment in London. He knows that but he does not know what the address is or whether Dr Mahathir really does own an apartment in London.

The most valuable part of a democratic and pluralistic society is the right to choose. Everyone can choose to support anything they think is right.

The United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) rally scheduled on November 25 with the objective to pressure the government is a choice of struggle. The United Chinese School Teachers Association (Jiao Zong) and the Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia (Hua Zong) have the right not to participate and choose to correct the unreasonable content in the National Education Blueprint preliminary report through communication and follow-up.

Similar to anti-environment movements, some people chose to take part in the 300km Kuantan-KL Green Walk. Their persistence and perseverance has won respect and admiration.

In politics, people also have the right to choose whether to change the government, strengthen the two-party-system or maintain the status quo.

Changing the government is an ideal and it can hardly become a reality if only a small number of people are supporting it. Therefore, the ruling and alternative coalitions must convey their political programmes and policies to the public through various platforms, including mass assemblies and annual general assemblies to fight for more support.

To me, the Pakatan Rakyat’s performance has not yet reached my personal demand. However, as I believe that democracy requires checks and balances, I support the two-party system. If the majority supports the two-party system, it is possible to bring a major change.

In a democratic country, everyone has the right to choose based on his/her own judgement and cognitive thinking. Therefore, it is not necessary for others to be so nervous or intimidate them into changing their stand.

Many people are confused about the meaning of democracy due to the intense political struggle. Some people are excessively fanatical to the extent of slandering and labelling those who have made a different choice.

French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher Voltaire said, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Who can still remember the words? Many people have instead lost their magnanimity and tolerance and attack whoever say something unpleasant. Democracy should never be like this.

All people make mistakes, regardless of how just they claimed themselves are. Calling themselves just does not mean that they cannot be criticised and corrected.

The BN has indeed made many mistakes and there is much room for improvement. Similarly, the Pakatan Rakyat state governments also have many inadequacies in governance. Being overly emotional has caused everyone unable to see the reality clearly.

Back to the Dong Zong rally, it is a peaceful civil demonstration and it is not necessary to label it as an “anti-government” movement. Adopting the path of dialogue to fight is not “heinous crime” either. Why can’t the Chinese organisations work together to achieve the same goal since all of them are serving the Chinese community? Without tolerance and the sense of balance, it could end up following the path of politics, namely people categorise those who are not called friends as enemies.

Most Chinese affairs are of voluntary or conscience nature. If it evolves into a life-and-death game, the Chinese community will first collapse before the winner of the political game is decided.

Life was boring and monotonic in the past when people were not granted the right to choose. It is good to have choice. But choices also bring us confusion and distress.

As the general election is approaching, people become more and more impetuous. We must first calm down to avoid being diverted by “choices”.

********************************************

The day Najib outfoxed all Malaysians…

Victor Lim, Free Malaysia Today

Now, wasn’t it Daim who predicted that five states would fall prior to the 2008 political tsunami? And it was correct – Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan.

And who and where this prediction was first publicised? Raja Petra Kamarudin’s (RPK’s) Malaysia-Today (MT) news portal.

Malaysians who have been following RPK’s writings were shocked, when after the 2008 general election, he began associating himself with Mahathir – meeting his sifu (master) in his Petronas twin-tower office.

Many could not understand or believe how RPK, who was so vocal against BN-Umno and one of the pioneers of the Free Anwar Reformasi Movement, could make such an about turn.

Many MT readers are still puzzled and cannot believe what was happening and why RPK’s writings started to slant towards Umno.

However, RPK’s slant is now cautiously back to the Opposition, championing the need to change? What’s going on? Simple! The cyber mercenary writer is financially backed by Mahathir and Daim.

In 2008, Mahathir and Daim’s common political pest was Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. So, RPK’s mission was to destabilise and erode support for Umno and Abdullah. It worked wonderfully, and as they say, the rest is history.

Now, Mahathir and Daim’s common political enemy is Najib. And do you now see the similar strategic political attacks from Mahathir and RPK?

If you still don’t believe that Mahathir and Daim are RPK’s sponsors, then you give me the answers to the following questions:

* RPK was the one who came up with the damning statutory declaration that implicated Najib and his wife, Rosmah, in the murder of Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu and the link to the Scorpene submarines’ graft allegations. Why?

* RPK was picked up by police and then charged. But after he was released on bail, how the hell did such a high profile political figure leave the country undetected?

* Who had the power and influence to facilitate his (RPK’s) migration? This was what I posted about RPK on Sept 10, 2012.

Talk is spreading like wild fire in Malaysia that the famous or infamous cyber operator, depending on which side of the political divide you stand, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, or more popularly referred to as RPK, is residing in an apartment in London belonging to the racist former prime minister Mahathir Mohamed.

RPK can feel free to clarify or attack me as we believe in freedom of speech and democracy, don’t we?

********************************************

When the issue favours the Chinese cause, they will scream democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of choice, the right to choose, agree to disagree, and so on. However, if it does not favour the Chinese cause, they will scream you are a turncoat, traitor, Trojan horse, frog, mole, you have been bought, and much more.

That is the ugly side of the Chinese. Freedom means freedom to agree with me, not freedom to disagree with me.

To people like Victor Lim, if you say or write anything that is perceived as pro-government, then this means you have been paid to do so. What about those who say or write something perceived as pro-opposition? Does this not also mean you have been paid to do so?

No! It does not. That just means you are noble. Those who support the opposition are noble. And if you do not support the opposition that can only mean one thing — you support the government. It is like religion. Either you are a Muslim or you are a Christian. And if you are not a Christian then you must surely be a Muslim. That is the only logical explanation.

To Victor Lim, your very action of not supporting the opposition is ‘evidence’ you have been paid. Using that same yardstick as ‘proof of guilt’, we will have to assume that Victor Lim is also a paid writer and his master must surely be Tian Chua. Can we, therefore, accept whatever Victor Lim says as the truth? Paid writers like Victor Lim would definitely lie through their teeth.

Victor Lim says he believes in democracy and freedom of speech. But when I exercise my democratic right of freedom of speech he vilifies me. The Malays call this bikin tak serupa cakap. Is this a Chinese cultural thing or what? Is this the best the so-called 5,000 years of Chinese ‘civilisation’ can produce? You appear puzzled as to why very few Malays trust the Chinese. Well, that’s because the Malays know that bikin tak serupa cakap type of people just cannot be trusted.

Probably 50 or more Malaysians have come to my house in Manchester, many of them Malaysians from Malaysia. Tan Sri Sanusi Junid, Zaid Ibrahim, Mat Sabu, Saari Sungib, and many more have all been to my house — some even spent the night at my house.

There are many more Malaysians from London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Reading, Scotland — in fact, from almost every city in the UK — who have visited me in Manchester. Yet Victor Lim says: Raja Petra Kamaruddin, or more popularly referred to as RPK, is residing in an apartment in London belonging to the racist former prime minister Mahathir Mohamed.

And he can’t even get the spelling of my name right. It is Raja Petra Kamarudin and not Raja Petra Kamaruddin. And what Free Anwar Reformasi Movement is Victor Lim talking about? Clearly Victor Lim tembak only. There is so such movement called Free Anwar Reformasi Movement. This is a fabrication by Victor Lim.

Anyway, what is the address of Dr Mahathir’s apartment? Does Dr Mahathir even own an apartment in London in the first place? And when did I move in to that apartment?

So you see, Victor Lim is bullshitting because I have never lived in London (at least not since 1956), never mind in whose apartment in London. I have been living in Manchester since the day I arrived. In fact, my family has been living in Manchester for 11 years now, since 2001, eight years before I came over.

The Malaysian police know I live in Manchester. Malaysians in the UK know I live in Manchester. Malaysians in Australia, New Zealand, the US, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc., know I live in Manchester. The Malaysian High Commission in London and the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur know I live in Manchester. Only Victor Lim alone thinks I live in Dr Mahathir’s apartment in London. He knows that but he does not know what the address is or whether Dr Mahathir really does own an apartment in London.

Can you see how they lie? And to these types of people lying comes under the category of freedom of speech. But if you were to reply to that lie, that is not considered freedom of speech. Freedom of speech means they can say things about you but you can’t say things about them.

Budaya apa ni? Budaya 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation ke?

Victor Lim also said: Malaysians who have been following RPK’s writings were shocked, when after the 2008 general election, he began associating himself with Mahathir – meeting his sifu (master) in his Petronas twin-tower office.

In fact, in the 2006 PKR annual general assembly in Penang, Azmin Ali whacked me in his speech. And Anwar Ibrahim sat there on stage smirking like the cat that had swallowed the canary as Azmin Ali whacked me for ‘bersekongkong dengan Dr Mahathir Mohamed’.

Hence, if you want to accuse me of ‘collaborating’ with Dr Mahathir then this collaboration started more than six years ago and two years before the 2008 general election. And if I had collaborated with Dr Mahathir more than six years ago and two years before the 2008 general election, how can I be a turncoat? A turncoat is someone who changes sides. I never changed sides after the 2008 general election. I have been with Dr Mahathir since two years BEFORE the 2008 general election.

And do you know what? Many PAS and DAP leaders — and many of them top leaders at that, too — also attended that 24th June 2006 dialogue with Dr Mahathir. Even the ex-PKR Deputy President turned up. So what have you got to say about all those PAS, DAP and PKR leaders who attended that dialogue with Dr Mahathir organised by Malaysia Today at the Kelab Century Paradise on 24th June 2006?

In the Kota Bharu dialogue the following month, the Kelantan Menteri Besar, Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat, attended the session and shared the stage with Dr Mahathir. He also attended the dinner in honour of Dr Mahathir that same night. Nik Aziz felt he needed to play host to the ex-Prime Minister since he (Nik Aziz) is, after, all the Menteri Besar of Kelantan.

Maybe the Pakatan Rakyat supporters should learn how to tell the truth for once. You accuse Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, NST, The Star, TV3, RTM, etc. of lying. But what difference are the opposition supporters? You are as blatant in your lying as the people you accuse of lying.

And why do you not respond, point-by-point, to the issues I have raised? I have been raising many issues since the mid-1990s — ever since I first started writing for Harakah in 1997 and I first launched my own website in 1994. What I am saying now is what I have been saying for the last 18 years. What am I saying now that I did not say back in the 1990s?

If I am wrong then rebut me with what you think is the truth. But you don’t do that. Instead of replying, you just hurl allegations against me and totally ignore what I say. And the only ‘rebuttal’ thus far is just a plain denial. Denial is no defence. If it is then Najib Tun Razak never met Altantuya Shaariibuu since he has denied meeting her.

In short, you know what I say is correct and you know there is no way you can rebut what I say. Hence you ignore what I say and do not reply to it and instead make all sorts of allegations, which are very far from the truth.

This is just like those Umno blogs that say I live in London and that one day I was so drunk I fell into a monsoon drain. Many kampong-minded Umno supporters who have never been to London and do not know that the UK does not have a monsoon season and London does not have monsoon drains will, of course, believe this story.

These opposition diehards are just the reverse of the same coin called Umno. They are all cut from the same cloth. Their doctrine is: you are free to agree with me but God help you if you say something that I don’t like.

Oh, by the way, take a look at the picture below. Today, some people in PAS are saying that they want Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang instead of Anwar Ibrahim to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia if Pakatan Rakyat wins the next general election. I already ‘said’ this four years ago. And if you can’t interpret what that picture means then you are dumber than I thought.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

i) No! It does not. That just means you are noble. Those who support the opposition are noble. And if you do not support the opposition that can only mean one thing — you support the government. It is like religion. Either you are a Muslim or you are a Christian. And if you are not a Christian then you must surely be a Muslim. That is the only logical explanation.

Noble?!? Seeing Pakatan’s 90% failed manifesto lies and ethical or democratic (nepotistic) flaws for what DAP is, is noble. To praise those who support Pakatan as noble – is not noble.

ii) And if you do not support the opposition that can only mean one thing — you support the government.

Inculpating hegelian dialectic thought still eh? Either or? How about ‘none of the above’? Better yet, how about ‘make your own option’ or make your own political party or run for candidacy as an independent candidate. RPK is not a democratic man, and spins propaganda that kills freedom of thought as well as skews facts. Pakatan is a failure as bad as BN. The 3rd Force indies among citizens could likely be better than eithetr BN or PR, so please don;t try to make lies into truth. Money cannot buy breeding as much as breeding cannot buy HONESTY and ETHICS which are prerequisite to the status of NOBILITY. If for love the people RPK, or love for democracy, this sort of article will never appear on media. The readers should know what RPK represents by now.

iii) The ugly side of the Chinese

Apartheid and racism directed at any race, will bring out the very worst of any race. Who threw the first blow here? Not the Chinese. Look in the mirror and decide if racism or apartheid is what reflects . . . Enuff said.

Looks like the Constitutional Lawsuit needs to be carried out by unknowns, to ensure :

Does power always rely on threat? Why is fair mindedness so elusive to some sorry souls?

Man seeks equality and fair treatment, but threats of murder and nasty tricks (like cement pools for the love of semen rather than EQUALITY) are the signs of mental illness and techno-fascism. Fight fair and find that some low minded dhimmitudisation a certain race holds to, have no part of Humanity’s future much like apes who did not use fire, or understand that the Human Rights Charter is not something a country signs for fun, nor being a Muslim allows for such blatant displays of ill meaning natures, bronze souls do not belong in the arena of words (and will be treated to what they deserve) and those with so much who want to take even more from even equality, that will threaten for mere monetary gain, need to talk to the clerics at Al-Azhar University, search their souls at their so-called Kabaa of Islam before threatening people with death which will never be on the side of the unjust and profane . . . are we to understand that there is no religion and only politics and murder in Malaysia and a certain coalition, much less at very least ethics? Everything these UMNO or BN people have today is from the idiotic voting choice of the taxpayers and now these guys dare threaten the 99% who made them? Disappointing.

Let me start by asking you these questions. Does Islam encourage you to devastate the forests? Does Islam encourage you to wipe out your wildlife? Does Islam encourage you to fuck up minority communities (e.g. the Orang Asli)? Does Islam encourage you to venture into business without knowing head or tail of that business? Does Islam encourage you to repeat your mistakes, year in, year out for 20 years? Does Islam encourage you to close your eyes to the rape of your land?

The answer is obvious. Of course, Islam DOES NOT encourage you to do all these things. But I think the Kelantan MB Nik Aziz and his merrymen from PAS have a different understanding than the rest of us.

I first visited Lojing Highlands, Kelantan was in 1991. Nik Aziz was already the MB of Kelantan then. The area was a mess. Vast tracts of forest were being cleared to make way for agriculture. And these were pristine highland forests at elevations ranging from 500m – 1500m. Tens of thousands of hectares were given away to State government linked companies as well as friendly parties to develop highland agriculture.

The state government mantra then was “if the farmers in Cameron Highlands can do it, so can we”. The geniuses in Kelantan at that time thought they could replicate Cameron Highlands which at that time had a total 2000 hectares of agriculture land. They thought if 2000 hectares in CH can produce RM x million revenue, then opening 20,000 hectares in Lojing will produce RM 10x million.

They forgot something very important. The farmers in Cameron Highlands have had 50 years of farming experience in the highlands. Their farms were small, averaging 1 – 2 hectares. They were individual farmers who slogged their butts off for managing even a 2-hectare farm in the mountains was a major undertaking. No sane person will open up thousands of hectares in the highlands to do farming.

I returned to Lojing several times since. 1994, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2007 and 2011. Nothing has changed. Highland forests are continuously being opened up on large scale (obviously the geniuses in Kelantan have not learnt anything about highlands agriculture). Obviously, some people are making tonnes of money from the timber that is being ripped off from the so-called “agriculture land”. The rivers have silted up. Wildlife has disappeared. The Orang Asli communities are worse off than they were 20 years ago.

Hills being ripped off for so-called “agriculture”

Free teh tarik anyone? The once pristine Sg. Brooke and Sg. Belatop are now just mud flows.

Logging is still widespread in Lojing. This is despite the national policy prohibiting logging at elevations above 1000m.

This is where teh tarik comes from. Land opened up for “agriculture” with almost no erosion control measures.

Most of the agriculture development in Lojing have failed. The companies benefitted from selling of the timber from the thousands of hectares of land given to them. The 1000-hectares Yakin tea plantation has been abandoned (yo, you dungus in Nik Aziz’s office – just because Boh can manage a tea plantation, does not mean that you also can. Boh is in that business. You are not. You just plundered that 1000 hectares). PKINK was given over 1000 hectare for orchards and agro-tourism – sampai sekarang habuk pun tak ade.Kayu balak dah lesap.

Land ownership in Lojing Highlands. I am sorry if you can’t read the map. Almost 30,000 hectares have been given away to state-linked companies and state agencies and friendly companies over the past 20 years. Almost zero productivity expect for the timber that has been taken away. Mind you these are all highland country with mostly steep slopes.

A few Chinese farmers from Cameron Highlands who leased small areas from Kelantan state government linked companies are doing pretty well. Other than that, agriculture output from Lojing is minimal – despite it being more than 20 years since Nik Aziz and his merrymen opened and devastated Lojing. None of the state government linked companies and state agencies have produced anything substantial despite wiping out over 20,000 hectares of pristine highland forests Nothing. Kosong. Telor ayam. In every aspect, Lojing has been a disaster.

The environmental cost must be epic. The amount of erosion and sedimentation from Lojing must run into the hundreds of millions of tonnes over the past 20 years. The once gorgeous Sg. Brooke and its tributaries are now nothing but mud flows. An area that was rich in wildlife is now pretty pathetic. Great damage was inflicted onto the Orang Asli communities in Pos Brooke, Pos Hendrop and Pos Blau. All their water sources were destroyed. The forests that they depended for food and other produce were devastated. The orang asli traditional land were given to outsiders or usurped by state agencies.

If you think I am lying, I suggest you take a drive to Lojing. It is just an hour or less from Cameron Highlands. See the damages for yourself. The rape has been going on continuously for more than 20 years.

I would like to end my story by asking Nik Aziz this “Is this Islamic?”

I counted 300 timber trucks on the Gua Musang road coming out of the Lojing area nearly 15 years ago. Still have the photographs….
Little point in condemning the decisions/actions that have lead to the present dire consequences. Perhaps we ought to consider instead how & what can be done to heal the Lojing scar of our apolitical MotherEarth in some truly creative ways.
November 11, 2012 10:05 AM
@CK said…

the way Kelantan is administered is an insult to Islam. Kelantan is now the poorest state in Malaysia, has the highest rape, incest and HIV cases. All the smart Kelantanese have left the state.
November 11, 2012 6:24 PM
@Lisa said…

Everybody did it. When I fly in Europe and look down on the landscape, there is not a single, not a single piece of land undeveloped. Not a single small hill. You can take off from Amsterdam and land in The Prague and you will not find it. I’ve been through this frustration on seeing how our land has been bled since the 90s and cried and wrote to newspapers, but I must say, and I’m sorry but it was pointless.
November 12, 2012 9:11 AM

@Cat-from-Sydney said…

Your Royal Monyetness,
We have visited this place many times and still cry when we see the scars on Mother Earth. Will be there again next week, hopefully with better results as cooperation from the natives is quite difficult to obtain. purrrr….meow!
November 12, 2012 9:17 AM

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Rivers should have a 1km ‘off limits’ buffer or green lung. Water tables perhaps a minimum of 10km worth. As for cultivation or farming, micromanagement is reliant on the ‘energy’ of individuals, so mass produced versions will never have the same quality, or as the article suggests will fail entirely or at least take longer than usual. A farmer of tea has ‘tea energy’, city people without any energy but city energy will not be able to grow anything, and MUST start from microscale (heck some can’t even tend garden) before ‘managing’ massive plantations. Farm conglomerates might possibly be impossible from land alone, the heart and interest of the person MUST be there, or all cultivation will not be comparable. This must also be considered against environment and the spiritual nature of the area a product is from. TEA from an Islamic prayer ‘ridden/infested’ area (Islam strip mines spiritually IMHO, thats why all those forests tend to become deserts or urban deserts wherever Muslims are) and will not be bought by markets, and that is why Chinese neutrality has made so much Chinese produce somehow so buyable, or Thai rice for example (which still has dangerously Buddhist leanings . . . ).

COFFEE from Islamic prayer ‘ridden/infested’ areas like UAE, most of Malaysia or even less secular parts of Indonesia (civet cat pre-pooped or not) will also be doomed to failure, simply because the buyers do not want to be Islamised by proxy. Conversely consider why Brazilian (sea, surf and bootay!) coffee ‘somehow’ seems superior – thats because there are no robed ghosties of locals hovering around the plants after hours with intent to ‘Islamise’. AT least in occult theory informed buyers at least, products from ‘religious’ areas are UNBUYABLE perhaps excepting the ‘Wuwei’ mentality of the Chinese (inaction) that actually improves a product by sheer non-investment of the pathos that other religions infuse their products with! Intent (or NEUTRALITY of intent) gives the product pedigree, and only the most secular producers can win in this game (which is why USA’s fanchises are somewhat ahead, though tainted by Freemasonry to a degree). Spiritual CLEANLINESS/NEUTRALITY of food is CRITICAL for sales assurances.

Tea from fundo heartland Malaysia? Forget that, India and China takes the cake FOREVER instead where tea is concerned. Though coconuts as well from India have the same pollution, the informed had better give the Indian grown coconuts or coconut products a wide berth. The whole gamut of Malaysian products is thus spiritually POLLUTED, and for a generalised (and cautiously presumptuous) example, from experiences at WW2, Austwictz may have just made German products that much more ethical (Nazi SS used alot of occultism, but since they have given up on that, the products PERHAPS are superiorly secular where applicable, though Caucasian obsession with the Aramean faith of Xianity and Xianity’s brand of proselytization could still down them, Judaism’s conversions are far more subtle but equally manipulative to no point as all 3 Monotheisms are Amon-Ra derived which was the invention of the reviled heretic Pharoah in any case – bring back the original faith systems regionally to put an end to the insanity . . .)

Then consider education and religious education (even more dangerous) and here you have the reasons for failures of such and such races. The spiritual hostility/manipulation guarantees failure. Let me say though what Malaysia might be worth – low density/nomadic ORANG ASLI UBAT *from* rainforests that could be worth a fortune, but all Malaysia has now are sprawling grey expanses of prayer blaring in neighbourhoods of backbiting political wannabes filled with greed and hatred towards other races and of course the faux-Arab ulama wannabes harrassing all and sundry with Hudud, all of the above who have who forgotten their beautiful naturistic Orang Asli beginnings.

So much for Malaysia’s viability and uniqueness, just a spiritual colony of the Arabs who already are more known for violent puishments (Hudud limb hacking, beheading), religious insularism (this and that are polluting/polluted these people are beneath us! / different God or Godless so are enemeies immediately/must be cursed to go to Hell (which might be an semi-dream state world as much as Heaven, created from constant inculpation while ALIVE so when dying hallucinates about, or has the inculpated NDE type experience) – luckily there are more people and better tech armed nations to counter thse barbarians), low tolerance to other cultures (eat pork or drink alcohol so entire peoples must be targeted, facilities for processing disallowed etc..) and terrorism (drawing a bomb turban cartoon means innocent people not involved in the 10th Crusade, who have never ever heard of the Prophet must die while on the way to work in a subway or have their Twin Towers collapse) than anything else. Islam is a copy of Xianity which is a copy of Judaism which is a copy of Amon-Ra which was a result of Heretic Pharoah Akenathan’s LAZINESS. Guess those 72 virgins might have been guess who’s fond mirage while struggling in a hellish oasis bordering a desert creating hell on Earth – how about a volcanic region called New Hell in the deepest desert, would be fitting . . .

Islam and Arabism is unique and very distinct, but bloodthirsty, impractical, too martial and not viable for this generation of YoutubeVid/MTV making, subculture studied, politically aware world citizens who’d rather be eating whatever meat of their choice (including PORK), drinking alcohol, smoking pot and contemplating the Universe (while dressed in BDSM fetish wear or Cosplay?) than irritating/trying to destroy peoples, communities, countries (at very last being manipulatively sanctimonious about being vegetarian) that are different from them. Religion belongs to the last millenia, and though religion should be kept alive and have spaces, cannot be allowed to impinge on secular people, legally, spiritually or otherwise. There must be spaces for all even if any group’s beliefs/activities are supposedly illegal to another – with the choice of consent to be part of any community the democratic choice of the individual ABOVE the preference of the state.

GEORGE TOWN- The DAP disciplinary committee will decide the fate of Pulau Tikus assemblyman Koay Teng Hai after he failed to turn up at the recent state assembly meeting.

Penang DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow said the state working committee had decided to refer Koay’s absence at the meeting between Nov 1 and 9 to the disciplinary committee.

Chow said the disciplinary committee will be made up of a five-member panel. They will be drawn from the central executive committee and headed by Tan Kok Wai.

It was reported Koay would also face disciplinary action for ignoring Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s refusal to approve his leave.

He missed the assembly to attend a meeting on the United States Election/Project for Young Political Leaders organised by the US embassy without Lim’s permission. Koay could not be reached for comment.

– New Straits Times

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

F**k DAP. Who cares what DAP thinks? Only the RAKYAT living in Pulau Tikus will decide if the Pulau Tikus adun stays or not! Maybe DAP will be replaced by independent candidates by the next GE. DAP has failed 90% of campaign manifestos and has NEVER addressed APARTHEID of BUMIPUTERA.

ARTICLE 14

Yes, you must behave, Bung — Erna Mahyuni – November 22, 2012

Nov 22 — You have to admire the Kinabatangan MP on some level. No other MP gladly puts his foot in his mouth with so much relish, you begin to wonder if his foot is delicious.

Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin in person is an affable man, who prides himself on his “every man” demeanour, and talks more like your drunk uncle than a lawmaker.

The problem is, Bung, is that you’re not just an embarrassing family member but an elected Member of Parliament.

There are expectations that come with the role, unfortunately.

One of them is the realisation that you can’t just say what you want, when you want.

Being an elected representative means there are standards of behaviour we expect you to meet.

At the very least, you shouldn’t swear, in public, especially at one of the people you are hoping votes for you in the next election.

Must I remind you GE13 is just around the corner???We’re all allowed a slip of the tongue once in a while. We’re all human, after all.

The problem with you, Bung, is that you don’t so much “slip”, as much as “stab” with your tongue.??What is unacceptable is that your Barisan Nasional leaders let you get away with your outrageous statements.

That bocor statement you made all that time ago? It was chauvinistic, rude and unacceptable. You didn’t just slur an opposition MP but all women. You have never apologised for that, have you? Don’t get me started on your smart remarks about women drivers.

But your greatest act of chauvinism, Bung, was ignoring the law of the land by refusing to ask permission from your first wife to marry your second. I can understand you were impatient, as your new wife is such a pretty young thing.

Did you forget you’re an elected official? Aren’t elected officials supposed to, you know, follow the rules?

Instead, you hopped off to Thailand for a quickie wedding and, unfortunately, got caught.??Being an MP doesn’t put you above the law.

If anything, you’re supposed to obey and uphold it. ??So it’s a little rich, your defending your right to use the F-word to ‘put someone in his/her place’.

You gave up that right when you took your oath. ??As a representative of the people, you are supposed to be someone we look up to. You are supposed to set an example.

You are supposed to maintain a code of conduct that we expect you to follow, because if you can’t follow it, then why should we???Some people think that calling you out for it in public is ‘sensationalising a non-issue’.

I beg to differ.

In other countries, MPs using foul words in public is frowned upon as well.

People are going to call you names and insult you.

Get used to it. As an MP, you must take the higher ground and ignore those who call you names.

As someone who gets plenty of insults on Twitter and in my column’s comments, I understand the need to vent.

But Twitter isn’t the place for it, Bung, and you know that.

All we’re asking from you is that you show a little class and save the F-word for occasions when half of Malaysia can’t hear you.

So behave, Bung.

Or we’ll have no qualms whatsoever not to vote for you or anyone you champion.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Erna versus Bung . . . polygamy is not exclusively a preserve OR punching bag of any culture (ancient or modern), and more an expression of individuals in relation to other individuals commitment in numbers more than 2 . . . Radin or Raden btw is an ORIGINAL Indonesian name, without Islam’s/Arab’s influence. So at least 1 person in the MALAY Dewan has 2/3rds of a truly Nusantaran name . . .

WHAT? Even most adults of the day do not ask their parents if they can marry who and who, much less a wife, though consultations may take place.

There must be though certain courtesies that the civilised 2nd wife should respect AFTER marriage that a blackball by society can retaliate by at very most if they do not treat the first wife with general respect as expected in society (i.e. ‘CHIVALRY’ to the first wife, like pouring drinks or opening doors – this politeness contrived or not is for the pleasure and dignity of the HUSBAND btw.

The second wife should defer to the first wife in certain ways such as not being ‘competitive’ or not being arrogant (the begum of the harem must be respected because families are built around seniority based hierarchy to a degree – even if the first wife is not well studied or very educated or even pretty etc. . . . MANNERS makes for attractiveness and a dignified family), though the first wife may by reason that sex is available from the second or subsequent, refuse at reasonable intervals not more than 50% (or 66% in the case of 2 wives) of what was asked for in the past by the husband – barring ageing libidos.

The first wife also remains married to the husband *specifically* for the face of the children hereon, even in the case of chilled relations between her and the husband. But to ASK PERMISSION to marry? Whats wrong with you Erna?

As discussed in my blog elsewhere, SOME (only some) women experience a change in their bodies after having children, and this can also be a reason to refuse sex, and this also becomes the reason the husband gets a second or subsequent wife. Being a modern woman or even a lesbian or a feminist does not mean that older forms of family do no exist, Erma has not been mixing around alot with polygamous families even as androgamous families are anathema to the polygamous ones. You’re showing your narrow minded side here Erma!

No where Erna’s response is concerned. NO, anyone who has more than one wife NEED NOT behave in the way Erna Mahyuni describes. Erna doesn’t belong in Bung’s society (or harem), not should Erna cast stones at cultures that do not involve Erna. One of Erna’s lines of logic is viable though, MPs need more class AND term limits as well, so in calls for Bung to step down, Erna and moi will be on the same side though not for the same reasons (with Ernha’s reasoning stemming from some inadequacy or simplistic mindset that feels a need to attack Bung’s right to marry freely as much as Bung’s first wife has a right to demand a divorce (which is not happening as of this comment posting at any rate). Inverse jealousy perhaps? Hey there’s always plastic surgery . . .

ARTICLE 15

Muezzin of Pahang state mosque killed in accident – November 17, 2012

KUANTAN, Nov 17 — A muezzin of Sultan Ahmad 1 state mosque was killed in a road accident at the traffic junction near Jalan Tun Ismail here, this morning.

Under unwritten spiritual covenents of all religions, no intent for sneaky proselytization via vocalised psychic intent will be tolerated by ‘God’, or the following of whatever faith. All muezzins should sing with NEUTRALITY and sincerity and ONLY IN SPECIFIC PSYCHIC ADDRESS to consensual Muslims. I even heard a muezzin GARGLING while singing, obviously intended to proselytize that when a person gargles, they are ‘praying’ – this form of dishonesty is as damnable in ‘god’s’ view, as slurred satanic prayers in conventional lyrics in music (also NLP mispronunciations), a parent intentionally encouraging their children to make a ruckus to disturb the neighbours, or inserting ‘convertive symbolism’ in MTVs of any sort.

Ethics in INFORMED CONSENT or else the spirit that made a muezzin a Muslim will depart for the nearest best converted person and the muezzin will be spiritually impacted at least, hurt or even DIE, this could be anyone that hears the muezzin and is converted. The worthiest UNCONVERTED person will receive the ‘spirit’ of the muezzin. Needless to say a muezzin needs to have very clear intent while singing and being heard by so many that are not Muslim or may not even be friendly to Muslims, a muezzin’s job is particularly hazardous as opposed to the Ulama who is heard ONLY by the faithful. The only caveat of safety for the muezzin is an attitude of deference to those auditorily impinged by the prayer, even if just vaguely like a mosquito in the background, the spiritual effects in the astral and ethereal will be potentially quite dangerous. For Prophet had said :

Ayah 203 of Surah A’raaf: “Disrespect and rashness clouds the mind and it is only politeness and respect that brings more divine mercy.’

Singing WITH intent to convert without informed consent is RUDE and Allah will have no protection for those who behave in a disrespectful manner to non-Muslims who are minding their own business before being disturbed by a prayer they didn’t want to hear, disturbing their concentration which is their god given right. Some people (regardless of faith or wealth or position – an ordinary secular citizen, itinerant or beggar, who was asleep or resting enjoying the silence, might have been subconsciously been lending strength to a Mujaheedin in battle before the prayer of the Muezzin woke them up, causing the Mujaheedin to weaken at a critical moment and lose the battle in a critical region of the world where battles for/against Islam are continuing . . . or technical malfunctions in vehicles (even dangerous dimensional or temporal disruptions, releases of EMP type effects that interact with the ionosphere or even the Sun causing Earthquakes or Solar Flares etc..) may even be doing ‘god’s’ work, before a prayer disturbs them and hence god will punish the offender. Prayer by voice rather than loudspeaker though must be fairly tolerated, though again a prayer must not be ‘directed’ at any except to ‘god’ and for Human Rights and Democratic Principle respecting matters preferably.

ARTICLE 16

From Kuantan to Dataran Merdeka: The emancipatory journey for a green Malaysia — Boon Kia Meng – November 22, 2012

NOV 22 — Humans make history; but never in circumstances and situations of their own choosing. This insightful observation by Marx, as he watched over the social upheavals unfolding in Europe in the middle of the 19th century, is a timely expression on what is happening in Malaysia today.

Have Malaysians ever heard of a group of ordinary, fellow Malaysians — our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, our children — marching slowly but surely, on foot, all 300 kilometres of it, rain or shine, from Kuantan to Dataran Merdeka? All united in a common cause: to stop any further environmental degradation in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak, where stopping the Lynas rare earth refinery in Gebeng, and the Murum and Baram dams in Sarawak, constitutes a fundamental demand.

These Malaysian citizens chose to embark on this journey (dubbed “Langkah Lestari”) because for far too long we have collectively as a nation allowed indiscriminate “development” and rapacious capitalistic resource extraction to go on, all in the name of economic growth and wealth creation.

Just witness the rapid decimation of our natural forestry and the displacement of our fellow indigenous Malaysian communities in Sabah/Sarawak and the peninsula. These have become common phenomena and Malaysians know deep inside that the present state of affairs cannot go on indefinitely without irreversible consequences to our common habitat.

It was their spirit and determination that drew me and my friends to join them in their walk for environmental justice. Donning green shirts and a peasant farmer’s hat, we experienced first-hand what ordinary Malaysians can achieve when they organise themselves, a trend that typifies the sea change in people’s attitude and participation in citizenship activism since 2008.

Ordinary mothers arrange lodgings and food distribution, grandpas and grandmas providing moral support with their feet and encouraging words, fathers managing logistic details, while the young, even little children, learn to take their first baby steps in authentic environmentalism and love for the country.

In other words, “Langkah Lestari” epitomises what has been truly essential in any democratic movement for bringing real social change: the twin values of self-organisation and mutual aid. Against these values, no authoritarian state or oppressive regime can stand a chance. Ordinary citizens, learning to organise themselves, little by little, will win the hearts and minds of the majority of the populace.

Make no mistake. The detractors and spokespersons for corporate and vested interests, such as Lynas Corp, will try to justify the viability of their operations on the grounds of economic development and job creation. Malaysian citizens have to judge for themselves whether this “win-win” deal is really beneficial for the country, especially for the residents in Gebeng/Kuantan.

What are Malaysians getting in exchange for the 12-year tax holiday given to Lynas, estimated at RM1.8 billion per annum, not to mention the billions of ringgit of revenue Lynas will generate from these operations? In reality, this is a classic case of neoliberal capitalism in action: the privatisation of profits, whilst socialising the costs, both human and environmental.

In the Lynas case, it is even more farcical, where we have a case of a foreign mining corporation, which is reaping stratospheric profits as a result of the Western Australian mining boom, deciding to externalise its social costs to another country. Instead of acting as protector and guardian of her citizens’ security and well-being, the Malaysian government has abdicated that role for the sake of endless capital accumulation.

It is no wonder that people from all walks of life are seeing through the lies of neoliberal ideology and deciding to leave the sidelines and join this struggle. The patronising dogma of big business that preaches wealth trickling down to the masses is increasingly hollow and losing its ideological hold on the people.

Try telling the Orang Asal brothers and sisters from Sarawak, who are marching daily with their Semenanjung compatriots, on the merits of an unfettered, free market economy that promises prosperity for all. Our indigenous brothers and sisters will tell you about the true face of “economic development”, where countless thousands of them have experienced forced displacement, land grabbing and environmental destruction.

Politicians from both sides wax lyrical about the need for more development and allocation funds for Sabah and Sarawak. They fail to see that uneven development and destruction of traditional forms of living have led to increasing proletarianisation (making them wage-earners, instead of their traditional self-sufficient farming existence) of our indigenous peoples, precisely what a capitalist economy cannot fail but generate.

These are the hard truths made visible by this 300km walk. It forces us to confront the dark, hidden side of our exploitative economy and its unsustainable ecological trajectory.

This brings us back to the significance of this Sunday, November 25, in the history of this nation. The marchers have decided to occupy Dataran Merdeka once they reach there, awaiting the presence of the prime minister and Members of Parliament from both sides of the political divide the very next morning.

Again ordinary Malaysians like them face the arbitrary exercise of state power in the hands of City Hall and the police when the mayor of KL said that no gathering in Dataran is allowed without an application for permit. We know that the upsurge of participation of Malaysians in public protests since Bersih 3.0 is no historical accident. The momentum of people’s movements will only grow stronger and stronger by the day and “Himpunan Hijau 2.0: Langkah Lestari” in Dataran Merdeka this Sunday will be no different. Thousands upon thousands of Malaysians will be there, come what may.

As I sat in the room with our fellow marchers, listening to the children of Bentong sing a song dedicated to their struggle, I felt strangely emotional. It was as if their voices helped us peer into a future of a new Malaysia that is taking shape right before our eyes. Of its shape and detail, no one could tell with any certainty. But one thing is for sure. It will be a Malaysia very different from the present one, burdened by her heavy history of class and environmental exploitation, and ethnic-based political ideologies.

“Those who do not move, do not notice their chains,” the radical democrat Rosa Luxemburg once said. Thank you, participants of Langkah Lestari, for walking and making Malaysians conscious of the shackles that are enslaving us. Thank you, Saudara Wong Tack (the organising chairperson), for reminding all Malaysians that true emancipation lies in our very own hands: “Pilihan di tangan kita!”

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Wildebeest walk even further and every single year of their life, not just once, but only are fodder for Crocodiles of the Nile, the predators along the way. REAL Emancipation is not feeling proud about walking or cycling around mindlessly but fighting for :

The greenest society can form, but if minorities are not equals but dhimmis who subvert intent of the articles and words for freedom and equality, there will be no dignity of life for non-Muslims and in general non-politicians. Pakatan sure has alot of ‘fun’ activities to distract the Rakyat from equality eh? And the biggest cheerleader of this sort of accept Hudud (actually not thats accept ‘Hadi’ but we all know that can become Hudud since hadi has not addressed the concerns of Article 4’s response above) but don’t address Bumiputera b.s. is term limitless, nepotistic DAP . . .

The last performance: RAF war veteran, 92, set to retire after playing his trumpet every Remembrance Sunday for five decades – by Liz Hull – PUBLISHED: 18:48 GMT, 10 November 2012 | UPDATED: 19:53 GMT, 10 November 2012

For half a century Sidney Patterson has played the Last Post at his local church on Remembrance Sunday in honour of Britain’s war dead.

Performing the poignant trumpet call is the 92-year-old’s way of honouring those who made the ultimate sacrifice for Queen and country.

But tomorrow’s rendition at Jesus Church, Troutbeck, in the Lake District, will be particularly moving for the former Royal Airforceman and musician because, after 50 years, it will be his last.

For five decades Sidney Patterson has played the Last Post at his local church on Remembrance Sunday in honour of Britain’s war dead

‘I started playing the Last Post in 1962 and have performed it every year since,’ Mr Patterson, a former lead trumpet with the London Palladium Orchestra, said yesterday.

‘I served in the RAF in the war, so it was just a small thing I wanted to do for all those servicemen who had given their lives for their country.

‘I feel honoured to perform it, but it has been 50 years so I thought I’d better call it a day.’

Mr Patterson, who is married with two grandchildren, learned to play the trumpet as a teenager growing up in Cardiff.

He joined the RAF when he was 18 and served as a leading aircraftman throughout the Second World War.

He was posted to Egypt and Aden, where he serviced Wellington aircraft looking for enemy submarines in the Persian Gulf.

It was during this time that he was asked to join the Band of the RAF Middle East, conducted by Squadron Leader Hugo Rignold, the renowned violinist who later went on to become the musical director of the Royal Ballet, as well as conducting the Liverpool Philharmonic and Birmingham Symphony Orchestras.
Tomorrow’s rendition of the Last Post at Jesus Church in the Lake District, will be particularly moving for the former Royal Airforceman and musician because, after 50 years, it will be his last

Tomorrow’s rendition of the Last Post at Jesus Church in the Lake District, will be particularly moving for the former Royal Airforceman and musician because, after 50 years, it will be his last

‘Both my mother and father were musical – my mother was a singer and my father played the piano, so they sent me off to learn the trumpet when I was about 14,’ he said.

‘I was quite talented at it and when I joined the RAF they asked me if I wanted to join the Band of the RAF Middle East.

‘We went on tours all over, through Palestine and North Africa, to entertain the troops. It was wonderful.’

Mr Patterson left the RAF, aged 26, in 1946 and continued to play with bands at grand venues such as London’s Mayfair Hotel and Grosvenor House, before being asked to play lead trumpet with the London Palladium Orchestra, who provided the live sound track for the acclaimed Sunday Night at the London Palladium television show, hosted by Bruce Forsyth, Jimmy Tarbuck and other famous stars in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

At the same time as performing Mr Patterson trained to be a chiropodist and eventually moved to Kendal to raise his two children with his wife, Morfydd, 85.

Mr Patterson was first asked to play the Last Post by his local British Legion in 1962. Initially, he performed in the church tower, but old age forced him to move to the porch a few years ago

He continued playing his trumpet with a local Big Band in his spare time until he finally retired from music aged 88.

Mr Patterson was first asked to play the Last Post by his local British Legion in 1962. Initially, he performed in the church tower, but old age forced him to move to the porch a few years ago because he could not manage to scale the stone staircase.

‘They used to joke and call me the phantom bugler because no-one could see where I was playing from,’ he added.

‘Nowadays I play the Last Post from the porch. It is a moving piece and I’ve had my trumpet out for the past couple of weeks to practice my scales and get my lips working again so I can do it justice.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The musician’s post in obviously limited positions should be rotated among various persons who want to play. The most competent and most specialised (i.e. plays at many locales and does not have another non-musician job etc..) should be on a list to play. While this would mean that salaries would not be monthly based and personnel could not make a living on being a musician alone, many more people would have a chance to play for military bands. A single person playing for decades shuts out everyone else. If Patterson is replaced by another musician for the same decades long stints, then a lack of democracy would be in effect again.

ARTICLE 2

New dawn? This looks more like a new dusk – by Simon Heffer – PUBLISHED: 22:19 GMT, 7 November 2012 | UPDATED: 09:03 GMT, 9 November 2012

The next four years for America look bleak. It’s not so much a new dawn as a new dusk. And with 50 months left in power, President Obama, his hands tied by a Republican-controlled House of Representatives, is a lame duck already.

He was re-elected despite a majority of voters thinking the economy is on the wrong track. And with tax rises that could wreck recovery due on January 1 – the so-called ‘fiscal cliff’ – experts fear a recession here in 2013.

The most sensible policy – which a Romney administration would have pursued – is deficit reduction. Instead, the second Obama term will increase the deficit, further diminishing America’s economic power and credibility.
Lame duck :President Obama, pictured with his wife and daughters at an election night party, has his hands tied by a Republican-controlled House of Representatives

Contradiction: Obama won the election with a decent majority over Romney, despite a majority of voters thinking the economy is on the wrong track

Around $1trillion a year will be added to debt – bringing the total to $20trillion by 2016. This will drive up interest rates on US bonds, and hard-pressed Americans will have to pay more taxes to fund higher interest payments.

Meanwhile, the President is determined to push through his ‘Obamacare’ health insurance policy, which would account for a large part of that increase.

But the Democrats are well aware that the pumping of federal money into corporate bail-outs and infrastructure projects in declining regions is the key to creating a state clientele that keeps voting them back into office.

The administration is already devising stealth taxes to help pay for the bribes it wishes to offer the coalition of minorities that comprise its supporters. Some will corrode the core of American self-reliance, such as taxes on any substantial capital gains made from house sales. Others are simply opportunist, such as a tax on tanning salons.
Commander in chief: Obama was elected by the country to serve another four years in the White House

Obama’s ‘Obamacare’ aims to increase the governments funding of healthcare for Americans, but will cost billions- adding to the crippling debt

These are all measures of how desperate the financial situation is – a reality apparently kept from most of the American electorate, so far.

Washington observers speak of the incompetence of the Obama administration – not just its ability to waste money, but also to target funds so badly. There is very little to show for the $787billion fiscal stimulus of 2009. A fraction of it could have been used to create serious sea defences around New York and New Jersey, to avoid the devastation of last week’s storm, for example.

Sensible: Mitt Romney (seen here with his wife Ann during his election night rally in Boston) would have pursued deficit reduction, which is the most viable option to save America’s economy

Many feel that Super-storm Sandy occurring so close to the election swung many voters in Obama’s favour

Swingeing taxes that fall disproportionately on wealth-creators and entrepreneurs will not be all that stalls an economic recovery. So too will a failing national infrastructure whose state of disrepair is beyond pork-barrel handouts from Washington to local communities, but requires a big federal programme – and big federal money.

Roads, rail and airports all cry out for investment and improvement. But as long as money is thrown at failing industries – such as in the car industry bail-out that helped Mr Obama win Ohio and Michigan this week – the administration cannot afford to take big strategic decisions such as these.

The domestic economy is, however, only the beginning of Mr Obama’s problems. The Republicans will do all they can in the House to obstruct high-spending and socially damaging policies – creating legislative deadlock.

And as America subsides into a welfarist, subsidy culture, so will its paranoia about China – already running at near-hysterical levels in some manufacturing regions – grow. America increasingly fears China both as an economic and a military titan – the two components of being a superpower.

Defence cuts in America are inevitable once the borrowing binge brings serious damage to the economy – as it will by mid-term, if not before – and that will increase the nation’s sense of vulnerability towards the Chinese.

And America’s intractable unemployment problem – it was 8 per cent when President Obama assumed office and is 7.9 per cent now – is increasingly perceived as the result of a highly disciplined and well-trained workforce in China that systematically undercuts over-regulated American business.

Mr Obama must choose a new Secretary of State. Hillary Clinton – who may well run for the Democratic nomination in 2016 – has signalled a wish to stand down. Whoever succeeds her – and a favourite is John Kerry, who lost the 2004 presidential election to George W Bush – has to deal with Iran’s determination to become a nuclear power, and that state’s continuing threats against Israel.

The human cost of such a conflict would be terrible, and American diplomacy might not be equal to preventing either Israel or Iran choosing to strike at the other.

Less widely appreciated is the catastrophic effect it would have on the global economy through oil prices, and especially on an America that is already hobbling.

Team: Obama called Biden ‘America’s happy warrior’ as he paid tribute to his role in the election campaign

Obama’s supporters claim the worst is over, and the best is yet to come.

Such clichés patronise not merely the American public who, by re-electing him, have chosen the soft option rather than a confrontation with economic reality. They also patronise a substantial part of the developed world that, even if it no longer looks to America for political leadership, relies for its standard of living on the US being economically strong.

On the evidence of the past four years, notably Mr Obama’s record of serial economic incompetence, the next four are going to be exceptionally trying – and, sadly, not just for Americans.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Just moi? Or is Dailymail exhibiting so subtle a racism that even the targets could appreciate racism. Dusk = darkness = . . .

Sometimes human conflict is not the issue but when ‘fanatics’ (heres one with all the winks and nudges Dailymail might appreciate . . . ) are going to infiltrate the country and pull a 911 or a Subway bomb (really hope these are not CIA and MI6 contrived agitprop to further an Orwellian state), Obama joining in such a conflict is the least of humanity’s problems. Perhaps in the interest of preserving genetic propensities that might be inserted into the correct ‘warriors’ in the distant future, warzones should be created for these sorts to retire to. Evil Microstates for ‘fanatics’ anyone? Can’t imagine a faith’s peoples being barred from entering such and such states, but this might well be the best bet if USA wants to ‘keep safe’. Tourists are just too disingenuous to overlook, and Muslim Tourists are an oxymoron if anything in so many ways.

There will be a permanent chilling of relations hereon but human cost of conflict will continue so long as oppressive governments are allowed to frustrate their citizens entertainment wise, and politically, or bore their citizens with theocracy into mindless obedience (there is nothing else but prayer, so killing and dying would be a release to would be terrorists) reacting with violence. Religion does that, ESPECIALLY Islam or any religion that denies pleasure or recreation or refuses to legalise organics psychedelics, RLDs and distribute wealth and land equitably (Occupy Movement, various Riots in Western nations) instead of sharing and allowing FUN.

The world without religion, but lots of fun activities, interesting food and drugs to try out (under medical supervision so that no ODs occur, then again if they die, no loss either – self inflicted), and no need to work may not be very much for a capitalist, fascist or moralist to play with (Theocrats tend to be fascist moralists and are surrounded by trappings of extreme Capitalism . . . ) and who needs these nuts, but there will always be pockets of ambitions and technologically inclined that will not need war at that point to progress mankind even as everyone else lounges around. As for war and invasions, the 2nd Amendment should extend to ownership of military grade weapons and craft. If every 10 billion-and-above-aire were required to maintain and own an air craft carrier or every billionaire wee required to own a Cruiser class vessel, the lack of weapons issue would not be a problem. If every citizen above 18 drove a Tank or APC, or owned a Howitzer the USA (or planet) would be ‘uninvadable’. But instead we have CITIZENS paying for a police and military which is used to oppress fellow citizens. Think of expansions to the 2nd amendment! Try the response to article 4 link below :

UPDATE 3:03 p.m. King and Pierce County prosecutors are dismissing more than 220 misdemeanor marijuana cases in response to Tuesday’s vote to decriminalize small amounts of pot.

In King County, 175 cases are being dismissed involving people 21 and older and possession of one ounce or less. I-502 makes one ounce of marijuana legal on Dec. 6, but King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg decided to apply I-502 retroactively.

“Although the effective date of I-502 is not until December 6, there is no point in continuing to seek criminal penalties for conduct that will be legal next month,” Satterberg said in a statement.

The dismissed cases involved arrests in unincorporated King County, as well as the state highways and the University of Washington. About 40 of the cases had already been filed in court as criminal charges; those charges will be dismissed. Another 135 cases were pending charging decisions and will simply be returned to the arresting police agency.

Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said he was dismissing “about four dozen” pending cases where misdemeanor marijuana was the only offense. He said his staff was continuing to prosecute other cases where possession was secondary to a more serious charge, such as drunken driving.

“The people have spoken through this initiative,” said Lindquist. “And as a practical matter, I don’t think you could sell a simple marijuana case to a jury after this initiative passed.”

In an interview, Satterberg said his office would continue to prosecute marijuana possession above one ounce, allowing for “a buffer for those whose scales are less than accurate.” His office also charges felony possession — for people with more than 40 grams — although he said his staff routinely allows those defendants to plead down to a misdemeanor.

“I think when the people voted to change the policy, they weren’t focused on when the effective date of the new policy would be. They spoke loudly and clearly that we should not treat small amounts of marijuana as an offense,” he said.
I-502 campaign manager Alison Holcomb said she was “incredibly moved” by Satterberg’s announcement, which she said showed “incredible courage.”

The decision supports a prime argument I-502 made during the campaign. A study by a group of academics found there had been 241,000 misdemeanor marijuana possession cases in Washington over the past 25 years, 67,000 of them in the past five years. “If 502 hadn’t passed, we’d see the same amount of marijuana possession cases every year,” she said. “What makes a difference is changing the law.”

Satterberg is the first prosecutor to change charging policy after I-502, but other prosecutors are also considering these cases. Tom McBride of the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys said his office “just starting to work through those issues.”

Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes has refused to prosecute misdemeanor possession cases since he took office.

Earlier this week, the chief criminal deputy prosecutor in Spokane County, Jack Driscoll, appeared to take a more conservative position. He told the Spokesman-Review that, even after Dec. 6, the only marijuana which was legal to possess was pot sold in the state-licensed stores called for in I-502. Those stores won’t be created for at least a year.

“The only thing that is legal is selling marijuana through those stores,” Driscoll said. “That will be regulated by the state. You can’t under this initiative have an ounce of marijuana that doesn’t come from a state-issued provider. You still can’t have black-market marijuana.”

Holcomb disputed that interpretation. So did Satterberg, who called it a “very narrow reading” of the initiative. “I don’t know how you trace where (the marijuana) comes from,” he said.
Satterberg said he expected federal authorities to seek an injunction to block implementation of I-502’s state licensing scheme for marijuana retailers and growers. “I think it’s the kind of issue the U.S. Supreme Court will have a final word on,” said Satterberg, calling it an “an important state’s rights issue.”
But he does not expect a federal lawsuit to target the types of cases he is dismissing, noting that states already have widely divergent penalties for marijuana possession.

All they did was smoke something Mother Nature grew for them. Why should they suffer in jail AND at the taxpayer’s expense as well? Finally the justice system is STARTING (only barely, lots of term limitless/collusion/uncontrolled-capitalism/studentdebt-financiar-complex type issues!) making sense.

ARTICLE 4

No holds barred: The professional ‘cuddler’ who makes $260 a day by inviting strangers to take a nap with her at home

Spooning peacefully in a double bed, this pair could be any normal couple on a Sunday morning.

But revisit the scene an hour later and Jackie Samuel will be curled up in the arms of another man.

The 29-year-old is a professional cuddler. She turned to snuggling with strangers to help pay for her studies and provide for her young son.
Comfort zone: Jackie Samuel cuddles her client at The Snuggery in Rochester, New York

She added: ‘Some have said I am worse than a prostitute because they think snuggling is more intimate than sex. I’ve been told I’m monetizing love.’

One of her repeat customers, who would only give his name as Tim, disagrees with her critics.

He said Jackie’s cuddles had helped him following a bad break-up and described the sessions as ‘meditative’.

He even said he would continue to see her while in a relationship.

‘There’s no cheating element, it’s not immoral,’ he said.

Little spoon: But Jackie draws the line at intimate touching

Bedtime reading: Jackie says she has a number of repeat customers

Jackie cuddles up to 30 men a week as well as a number of women

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This is just to HOLD, not ‘HAVE’. Auric prostitution? Different from sexual prostitution. But still prostitution. To each their own then, but considering the price for doing nothing and just sleeping on the job, barring contract caveats to prevent incidental abuse, this is excessive!

ARTICLE 5

The anorexic statement

Trust me, notice me, feed me: every female body conveys a message. So, when a woman starves herself, what is she saying? – by Rachel Cusk Published 31 October 2012

I knew a woman whose job it was to take anorexics to the swimming pool. She was an occupational therapist: eating disorders were her field. She worked at a nearby clinic and we bumped into one another from time to time.

I found myself curious about her work, or more truthfully about her patients, those singular modern-day martyrs to the cause of their own bodies. Without quite knowing why, as I have grown older I have become more interested in – it could even be said, more respectful of – what might be called the anorexic statement. Perhaps it’s because, as the 45-year-old English mother of two children, my body has little power of provocation or utterance; or rather, that what it’s said or tried to say through the years hasn’t seemed to have added up to all that much. Quite what constitutes the anorexic statement I’m not entirely sure. All the same, it has a great power of disruption. It’s a stray spoke under the wheel of things that otherwise have the capacity to hurtle on headlong: family life, fashion, the destiny of the female body. The statement might be: help me. Or it might simply be: stop.

My therapist acquaintance herself had not been allowed to be picky in life, growing up in a family of brothers on a farm in the Australian outback. She knew how to shoot, drive a tractor, ride a horse bareback. She had left that rough home and come to the UK, where every couple of years for the sake of change she moved job and town – Slough, Birmingham, Chelmsford – though her solitude and her line of work did not alter. She neither sought nor seemed to expect much in the way of pleasure. In the evenings she made a sandwich and read a book in her rented room; her main meal was lunch in the canteen at the clinic, where food was plentiful and cheap. This somewhat joyless attitude to nourishment could come as no surprise, given that she spent her days among females who regarded the ingestion of a teaspoonful of peas as a physical and spiritual crisis. Once a week she led them to the poolside, skeletal and pale, for all the world to see. Even at the swimming pool these curious beings detected the threat of penetration, of the outside coming in. They didn’t want to get in the water, not, apparently, because they felt self-conscious or exposed, but for fear that they might swallow some of it without its calorific content having been established.

The easiest thing that could be said about my acquaintance was that she herself was impenetrable. Her choice of career must have sprung from some initial attraction to or sympathy with the anorexic state, but most often what she appeared to feel for her waifish charges was irritation, even anger. Anger is a common response, it seems, to the anorexic statement. At the very least, returning from a day spent on the receiving end of that statement, my acquaintance was hard put to feel – as they say – good about herself. If the anorexic is someone for whom the relationship between female being and female image must, on pain of death, be resolved, it may be that she denies that resolution to those who cross her path. They become the witnesses of her vulnerability; as such, she is more real than they. Like with the ascetic of old, her self-denial is a form of chastisement, yet the extremity of her appearance is confusing. Being female, it seeks attention, but of an unusual kind. It asks to be mothered – yet what if its aim is indeed to challenge the reality of the mother-figure and overpower it, to triumph over her, to consign her to flesh and steal her image? The anorexic is out to prove how little she needs, how little she can survive on; she is out, in a sense, to discredit her nurturers, while at the same time making a public crisis out of her need for nurture. Such vulnerability and such power: it brings the whole female machinery to a halt. My acquaintance had tales of rudeness and tantrums and sulks, of behaviour more commonly read about in childcare manuals (of the kind whose purpose, we are told, is to “test the boundaries”), even of a degree of personal insult which at the very least, I suppose, mothers aren’t paid to tolerate. She had no children of her own. And so, in an admirable interpretation of the social contract, she recognised she had something in that line to give.

Jenefer Shute offers some riveting descriptions of such interactions, between the anorexic inpatient Josie and her carers, in her novel Life-Size. “In the body,” Josie chillingly muses, “as in art, perfection is attained not when there’s nothing left to add, but when there’s nothing left to take away.”

Armed with this credo, she can exercise contempt on everyone around her (“They say I’m sick, but what about them, who feast on corpses?”), in what becomes a radical reliving of her primary experiences of nurture. And it needs to be radicalised: this is the moral value of the anorexic statement, that it asks questions not just of mothers or fathers or fashion editors, but of the whole societal basis for the female image. This time around, Josie can speak her mind. She can criticise the people who care for her; she can re-experience the powerlessness of childhood and know it for what it is. So unpleasant is she to the “freckled cow” who nurses her that she finally gets the reprimand she has apparently been asking for:

“Josephine, I must ask you please not to speak to me like that. I’m not your servant.” And then, unable to contain herself: “And would you please look at me when I talk to you? It really gets on my nerves.” Coldly, victoriously, I remain precisely as I am. She really should have more control.

Soon after, however, the 68-pound tyrant, having agreed at last to eat something or be force-fed through a tube, makes a revealing request of her nurse: “I want you to feed me,” she says.

My acquaintance found it hard to muster much interest in herself at the day’s end. She rarely went out or saw people: it was as though her work had bled her of confidence. She sought not public interactions but the determined security of her private boundary. In the evenings she changed into loose clothes, shut herself in her room, shut herself into a book. She wanted to be where no one could demand anything of her, like a depleted mother, except with none of the prestige of motherhood. She never kept company with men, and her female world was wholly predicated on an insidious notion, that certain women are there to give attention and others to receive it. Sometimes it seemed that her patients had indeed stolen her image and left her with nothing to trade, nothing to barter with for some share of the world’s interest. They had stolen her image and left her a mere body that could find no reflection or definition for itself. She went back home for a few weeks on holiday and returned browner, more animated, and heavier. All that meat they went in for, meat roasted over a fire and served at every meal. But more to the point, a world in which food was an entitlement and a human bond.

In her own world food had become a weapon: her evening sandwich and her indifference were a kind of savourless pacifism she exercised against it. She spent her days among people who denied themselves food in order to experience, perhaps, power, whose apparent intention to make themselves invisible made them, in fact, visible, who had discovered that by becoming less they became more. And no­where was this clearer than in the fact that they required her as their witness, for disappearing was no fun unless someone noticed you’d gone. But if anyone was disappearing, if anyone was becoming invisible, it was she.

The question of how she had come to be stranded in this place remains difficult to answer, but its source may lie in the very practicality – the tractors, the horses – she had crossed the world to escape. Denied her own experience of femininity, she had perhaps embarked on a kind of pilgrimage to find and serve these notable victims to the riddling perversity of feminine values. She could help them, sit with them while they wept and shrieked over a teaspoonful of peas, she who had never had the temerity to question or refuse anything she had been given; she who was not important enough, as it were, to be anorexic, for the hieratic significance of the anorexic body depends on it having been ascribed a value in the first place. Had she tried to starve herself on the farm where she grew up, she might simply have died: her protest, in any case, would not have been understood. She had taken photographs of this place, on her recent trip home. In order to capture its isolation, she had photographed it from a distance, recording the miles of surrounding scrubland in a sequence of separate frames that she laid one next to another across the table in a long connecting strip. Amid these featureless wastelands she defied me to locate her home, and though my eyes searched and searched the landscape it was true that I could find no evidence of human habitation. She laughed, with an unmistakable and strangely exhilarated pride, and laid her finger over a low brown shape that crouched amid the boulders and bushes that extended all around it, on and on to the white horizon. It was so small her fingertip covered it. “There it is,” she said.

It may seem superfluous for a 45-year-old mother-of-two to say that she does not exult in the life of the body, but let’s just call it a place to begin. At the very least, as a statement, it raises numerous lines of inquiry. One might be: is it obligatory, or even a moral duty, to take pleasure in one’s own physical being? Leaving aside for a moment the question of what definition of pleasure one could possibly arrive at in this particular hall of mirrors, is the value of the physical quest in any way comparable with that of the artistic, the emotional, the spiritual?

I understand the anorexic’s notion of pleasure far better than the hedonist’s. Sometimes it has seemed to me that the second kind of pleasure is consequent on the first, that the life of sensation can be accessed only from a place of perfect self-discipline, rather as strict religious practices were once believed to constitute the narrow path to heaven. The anorexic, like the ascetic before her, publicly posits the immolation of the flesh as a manifestation of a primary physical discontent she is on her way to escaping: she represents a journey whose starting point is disgust. Body is found to be not only intolerable to but weaker than mind – how, then, can its desires and yearnings be taken seriously? The anorexic statement suggests a second body, one that will be painstakingly encroached on and attained; and hence, a second template for desire. This second body will belong to its owner as the first did not: its desires, therefore, will be experienced as not shameful, but true.

The female form is inherently susceptible to this duality, but the difficulty with the anorexic statement is that once it becomes open to other readings it breaks down. At some point in the journey a line is crossed: the slim body becomes the freakish starved body, and one by one the anorexic’s grounds for superiority are discredited and revoked. She is not beautiful but repellent, not self-disciplined but out of control, not enviable but piteous, and, most disappointing of all, she is publicly courting not freedom and desire but death. Even she may find these things difficult to believe. How to go back, on that journey? How to retrace one’s steps? For in getting where she needed to go the anorexic had to sacrifice the concept of normality. In a manner of speaking she sold her soul. She can never be “normal” about food or flesh again. So, how is she meant to live?

If the anorexic arouses irritation, even anger, it may be this quitting of normality that is to blame, because the female management of normality is a formidable psychical task from which most women don’t feel entitled to walk away. By quitting it she exposes it, she criticises it as a place to live, and moreover she forces each woman who passes her way to choose between denial and recognition of her statement, disgust.

Is it disgusting to be a woman? Menstruation, lactation, childbirth, the sexualisation of the female body – in recognising these things as her destiny, a girl is asked to forget everything that her prepubescent instincts might formerly have suggested to her. In becoming female she must cease to be universal, and relinquish the masculine in herself that permitted her as a child to find the idea of these things disgusting indeed. Likewise that masculine is now embodied for her in men, so the question becomes – do men find women disgusting? The anorexic statement dispenses with that perspective. It returns the woman to the universality of the child, and from that fusion formulates itself: I find myself disgusting.

If it has become a cultural cliché that women want to be thin more than they want to be loved (the three most cherished words these days, so the saying goes, being not “I love you” but “You’ve lost weight”), and moreover that they want to be thin not for men but for one another, the general observer might be tempted to view this as making the case for male innocence (at last!), even male redundancy.

Yet, looked at another way, the male and the preponderance of male values are perhaps more culpable in the incrimination of the female form than ever. An eating disorder epidemic suggests that love and disgust are being jointly marketed, as it were; that wherever the proposition might first have come from, the unacceptability of the female body has been disseminated culturally. Is it possible that disgust has finally got, in the famed male gaze, the upper hand? From whom, after all, has a woman ever wished to hear the words “I love you” but a man?

In Life-Size, Jenefer Shute posits the anorexic state as having two separate sources, one in the female (subjective, mother) and the other in the male (objective, father). Between them they engender in the anorexic subject the confusion between being and image of which one might suppose her to be merely an extreme cultural example. Mother – the female body – is indeed the source of disgust, but it is father – if one can be permitted the leap of seeing father as analogous with male and, indeed, with society – who makes that disgust public and hence catalyses it into shame. Without father, mother might merely have passed her disgust silently on to daughter, where it would have remained as an aspect of her private, interior being. But father brings it to the surface: it is something not just felt but now also seen. These confirmations, in Shute’s narrative, of interior suspicion (am I disgusting?) by outward commentary (yes, you are) are fatal to female self-perception in ways that might seem obvious but are none­theless intractable.

Outside and inside – image and being – are now held to be one: the girl/woman revisits and tests this impossibility by becoming the observer – the male – herself, looking at and remarking on the bodies of other women. Naturally, the discovery that image can be changed is not new: it is and always has been part of becoming a woman, in a sense that, although slenderness has long been a feminine ideal, self-hatred and the compulsion to starve oneself to death have broadly not. The question of disgust returns, accompanied by its shadow, the question of pleasure.

A personal admission: not long ago, in a period of great turmoil, I lost a considerable amount of weight. The first thing to say about this is that I was unaware, inexplicably, that it had happened. That my clothes no longer fitted passed me by: I noticed it only because other people told me so. They appeared shocked: each time I met someone I knew, there it would be, shock, a startled expression on the face. At first, I was startled in turn. They were not seeing who they expected to see; who, then, were they seeing? After a while I got used to it: indeed, I came to expect, almost to require it. A newborn baby needs to be mirrored by another human being in order to grasp that she has an outward surface, that this “self” has an appearance, that her image speaks. Through the shock of others I learned that I, too, had been shocked, that I was no longer the person I once was. My image was speaking, to me as well as to other people, telling me things I did not yet appear to know or realise.

But eventually the question of “normality” returned, as it must in the life of a 45-year-old mother-of-two. Stop, help me, feed me: this may have been my cry, but the truth was there was no one, any more, to answer. There could be no illusion, as an adult; I had left it too late to stage this apotheosis, this defeat of the first body, predicated as it is on the expectation of rescue. I had to draw back from it myself. And this was where the problem arose, because, like the anorexic, I found I could not retrace my steps, could not, as it were, go back to sleep. For years I had lived in my body half-consciously, ignoring it mostly, dismissing its agendas wherever I could, and forever pressing it into the service of mental conceptions that resulted, almost as a by-product, sometimes in its pleasuring and sometimes in its abuse. People were always telling me I should do yoga: this was one of the running jokes I had against my own flesh, for the idea that I would suspend the intellectual adventure of living even for one hour to dwell in the dumb and inarticulate realm of the auto-corporeal was as unappealing as that of spending an evening with someone I disliked. Now, as the weeks passed, instead of shock, my appearance was beginning to elicit milder manifestations of concern. I didn’t know what it meant: had I changed again? Was I no longer fragile and vulnerable? I had no idea. Never before in my life had I dared to be fragile, and all I knew was that I wasn’t ready to leave what I had become. “Have you ever thought of doing yoga?” someone said.

As a teenager I had been tormented by hunger and by an attendant self-disgust, for I saw in other girls a balance, an openness of form, that suggested they had nothing inside of which they need be ashamed. Their bodies were like well-schooled ponies, handsome and obedient, whereas I had a monster inside me whose appeasement was forever disrupting the outward surface of life. It craved so many things it could barely discriminate between them, and so indiscrimination – the failure to distinguish between what mattered and what didn’t, what helped and what didn’t, what it needed and what just happened to be there – became its public nature. It wanted, in fact, what it could get, in the light of what it couldn’t.

How thoroughly the tangible and the in­tangible confused themselves in those years. Creativity, the placement of internal material into space, the rendering tangible, became my weapon against that confusion.

When I left my boarding school – the blue serge uniform and the Cambridgeshire drizzle, the plates of stodge that were so predictable and real, the torturing sense of female possi­bilities that were not – I learned to manage the monster, more or less. Like the first Mrs Rochester it had a locked room of its own, from which it sometimes succeeded in breaking free to rend into shreds my fantasies of femininity, but I had set my mind on higher things. By locking up the monster I was making myself at heart unfree: what did I know of freedom in any case? I was accustomed to fantasy and to the safety – albeit uncomfortable – it supplied, and the notion of an integrated self was the most uncomfortable fantasy of all. In a sense, it was the monster: I could neither kill it nor live with it, and so there it remained, caged, bellowing and banging intermittently through the years, creating perhaps the sense of something amiss in those who came close to me, but caged all the same.

Yoga, understandably enough, was out: nothing could have persuaded me to enter that cage armed only with a sun salute. But my sudden emaciation in middle age did bring me into contact with the monster again, for, amid all the other losses, there in the rubble of the desecrated life, I appeared to see it lying dead at my feet. The Jungian notion of the “middle passage”, in which at mid-life all the templates for self expire or fall away, in which with sufficient destruction one has a chance to return to the blankness of birth, might have explained that death well enough to avoid detection: it simply went up in the fire, the horrible secret, along with everything else. And here, after all, was a chance to be free of my own image, the bind in which my body had held me for all these years, because, while wanting more than anything to be feminine, I had only and ever found my own femininity disgusting. This image, knitted together over time by questions and confirmations (Am I disgusting? Yes, you are), was one I was now prepared to sustain: I was poised to make the anorexic statement, to vanish, to let image and being finally become one.

But of course, no such thing occurs: there is no “letting”, no seamless transposition of the flesh. The anorexic body is held in the grip of will alone; its meaning is far from stable. What it says – notice me, feed me, mother me – is not what it means, for such attentions constitute an agonising test of that will, and also threaten to return the body to the dreaded “normality” it has been such ecstasy to escape.

For the first time since my teenage years I found myself tormented again by hunger: the monster had awoken from its slumber, bigger and more ferocious than ever. The route back to normality being blocked, I have had to devise other ways of getting there, or of seeming to. My occupational therapist acquaintance tells me that many of her patients are women of my age, women who have suddenly tried to slip the noose of their female flesh once its story – menstruation, lactation, childbirth – has been told in all its glory and shame.

When I relate this to my female friends they take it humorously, rolling their eyes and laughing, gallantly owning up – oh yes, they say, we know – to monsters of their own. Most of them haven’t delivered themselves into its jaws quite so thoroughly as I have; their dislike of their own bodies is a kind of low-level irritant, a necessary component of the female environment, but to think about it too much would spoil everyone’s fun.

I don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun, either, though for now I have spoiled my own. It did seem, for a while, as though the death-state of physical denial might contain the possibility of transcendence, the chance to step out of my self-disgust and make true contact at last: contact of my “real”, my second, self with the outer world. That I felt this had always been denied me, that in the negotiation between being and image all, for me, had been lost, was a stark kind of truth to face up to. Passing other women in the street these days, I seem to hear their bodies speaking. A lot of what they say is unclear to me, or at the very least so foreign that it takes me a moment to translate it. For instance: I accept myself. Or: respect me. The ones I like best are the ones that say, trust me. What I will never be able to hear unequivocally, whether whispered or shrieked, is: desire me. Notice me, feed me, mother me. Passing by the anorexic girl, stepping lightly and silently in the shadows, I hear her message and in a way I salute her for it. Other bodies have other messages, but for this one I have ears.

Rachel Cusk is most recently the author of “Aftermath: on Marriage and Separation” (Faber & Faber, £12.99)

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Way above the usual affirmative feminist nonsense (have you been sucking on my brains? (jk), though an article focused around normal people would have been better and reached more people. Sensitive and well timed to balance the spate of overweight affirmative articles recently. Thin and sickly are as valid as overfat, and will doubtless have fans as well though not so many being non-mainstream.

The site of the Japanese military’s largest “comfort station” in Asia during the Second World War is crumbling away, in Nanjing, capital of east China’s Jiangsu Province. (CNS Photo/Yang Bo)

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Contrived article? Then caution friends when addressing, but since this article is sort of interesting, do read – but with caution!

Perhaps the negativity of the place’s former purpose could be used by installing a similar purposed place like a strip club or brothel featuring specifically Japanese red light culture and Japanese women! In spiritual terms, a brothel directly based on Chinese joy over Japanese abuse could be the spiritual death of the subsequent generations of Japanese who’s previous generations (all those not involved in the Nanjing Holocaust are not the Japanese that any logical Chinese want to target, many good Japanese people had no part or older generation that gained from such actions – those who have can be determined as friend or foe and TWICE foe if anti-Chinese AND who have taken part in the Holocaust and should be very wary of righteous anger . . . how would they feel if China did the same to Japan?) abused comfort women in Jiangsu.

Does China have the will to legalise Red Light Districts? A portion of Japan’s population would be ‘controlled’ by this very action . . . also in a lesser sense the military of Japan as well (lesser because regular citizens lack the discipline of the formal military trained person). Until Japan apologises and seeks out the subsequent generations of all families with forced comfort women in their history (a very small percentage were consensual but that does not make forcing probably 99% into slavery) to compensate and apologise, the curse upon the backs of Chinese merrymakers in every former comfort station, could well damn the Japanese for generations to come with a single protective caveat being that all who do not speak Chinese or are ethnic Chinese be disallowed entry. This method is a synchronicity based occult attack, that another race in South East Asia is attempting to down China by, so will China do the appropriate . . .

ARTICLE 6

Shemales – posted by mtairara on 30/07/2012

Male?? female?? Shemale?? What are you?? These are the questions being asked and a buzz has formed around the entire LSCK reports the Eltorros Bulletin. It all started when a certain Bright Nunoo could not stomach these mysterious characters hovering around the group and their sex was not known, in particular; one Kadioli Kadjo who was the subject of interest of LSCKWA(liverpool supporters club Kenya wolves association) had been the cause of mind bending concern and questions had to be raised. in a shocking revelation; Kadjo confessed to being a woman and well before the dust could settle, he had received inbox messages, some even rumoured to go as far as as for ‘her’ hand in marriage. Investigative journalist Tush Ole Muyah exposed the shemale for what it really was and this did not go down well with a mr Lyatuu Cornel Andrew who proceeded to launch a rant; Lyatuu who is not used to being one to take matters laying down was not impressed when the two most famous group Shemales Monkey Bobby and Kadjo were competing who the better female was.
Back to the inbox story, it has been rumoured that Victor Sergon together with other un-named members of the group held talks on a personal level with the intention to ‘sign’ kadjo into thier hearts.
After this whole debacle, Kadjo proceeded to assure the group members that he was a man(which now begs the question on his sexual orientation) and that the lady in the photo is his wife. The question on people’s minds now is this; Since Kadjo is in japan where there are alot of cross dressers, when he comes to kenya, will someone lift up his skirt and reveal his ‘man-gina’??
Kadjo also proceeded to produce the following statement
‘guys am sorry for hurting some of you tho twas me who was hurt the most cz of being hit on by guys who thot i ws a lady,the pic is of my wife,am rilly sorry for any inkonvinience i may av put u through,hoipe u accept my apology n still take me as one of u?anythng that was said in inboxes will remain there.’
This only added fuel to the fire with most members asking to know what was said in those inbox messeges.
On the other hand, It was revealed by David Mjei Mliverpool that Monkey booby is now a fully fledged female after undergoing hormonal transplants and that his boobs have grown on his chest and that they are doing well, but fact remains that s/he/it is a shemale and once in a while its man-gina blossoms once it sees males passing.

till next time amigos ~adios~ Eltorros Bulletin

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This is not very accurate. While most TRANSEXUALS prefer to be considered ‘fully fledged’ women, TRANSEXUALS are ALWAYS NEVER fully fledged women BECAUSE medical science does not have ability to grow ovaries, fallopian tubes and wombs and maybe the grafting technology to allow dual gendered bearing of children. TRANSWOMAN is the correct term, not fully fledged woman. Even though accuracy of terminology does (unhappily) place transexuals below women PHYSICALLY, spiritually yes . . . transexuals ARE women, even before the SRS but that is only internal and not physical which is needed to be fully fledged.

Note1 : differentiate transexual from shemale (2 variants) – a shemale MUST always have a penis and scrotal sac with testicles intact for the alpha types who are either bixsexual or ‘male lesbians’, OR for beta shemales who MUST keep the penis (to qualify as she-MALE) but who also sometimes remove the scrotal sac and testicles to be more submissive or feminine (lower testorone, though beta shemales can be dominant in a male-shemale relationship as well . . . ) or because they do not want to have children AS natural MEN.

Without the intact or partially intact MALE genitalia centered around the Penis (scrotal sac alone is not as responsive as the phallus so moot point and quite uninteresting to boot), the term shemale cannot be used at all because this is in reference to maleness within a female form. Shemales have either or both because they physically WANT to have sex using a penis, rather than with a vagina (Bobbit types do not really count as the preferably erectable penis is either the primary or secondary highlight of the shemale subculture).

Transexuals however by choice want/have neither penis nor scrotal sac and testicles, (they do not want any male bits being women mentally and spiritually) and also will take great pains to have an artificially constructed ‘man-gina’ because they physically WANT to have sex using a vagina complete with clitoris (man-gina is a semi-offensive term depending on sense of dominance, orientation and genital identification), rather than a penis which is what defines women and shemale (the simple explanation being a man with augmented breasts and either above described forms of genitalia).

Of course when the organ growing technology is there, a ‘shemale’ ‘proper’, as currently termed (and actually a shadow of what an actual shemale should be), would probably be technically only usable by those who have FULLY FUNCTIONAL nethers of BOTH sexes, which is also possible as a natural state just described, but this is so rare that the current term applies to the first definition as well, though inaccurate. For now ‘shemales’ are refer to the above limited MALE genitalia forms.

Well wanna repost without the b.s. I identified for you Torros? (Please ignore Sophia’s praise, I had in fact researched/written a (poorly circulated so not worthy of mention) ‘chick-lit’ book on the subject subculture and know the inaccuracies of terminology.

A Pittsburgh-area tattoo parlor owner says she saved some money by using real money to tile her space — with 250,000 pennies.

Mel Angst was looking for an inspired way to tile the floor of the Garfield, Pa. tattoo gallery, Artisan, which she runs with her husband, tattoo artist Jason Angst.

“My floor is made out of about 250,000 pennies,” Angst told ABC Pittsburgh affiliate WTAE. “Amazingly enough, it’s a lot cheaper to glue money to your floor than to actually buy tile. It’s about $3 a square foot.”

Angst said that after she found the appropriate adhesive to affix the pennies to the floor of her shop, she then found people via Facebook to log the man hours. She bartered tiling labor for $10 off per hour on tattoo work, she told ABCNews.com.

“Some days it was just me,” she said. “I think the most we ever had was 7, but on average, (we have) 3 or 4 people a day for about 10 to 16 hours a day for about three weeks straight, gluing these down … People are just shocked that we did it because it took about 300 man hours, which was crazy.”

In total there will be approximately 800 square feet of Lincoln profiles.

Artisan had a gallery show last week where people could view the new floor, and Angst looks forward to next week, when it will be grouted, shined and completed. Once it is done, everyone that logged 30 hours of penny-tiling is promised a free penny tattoo from the shop.

The gallery plans to partner with Tazza D’Oro and open a coffee shop inside the space this spring.

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Big deal. Try topping the one where the SRS Surgeon Tiles Ceiling With 250,000 PENISES (preserved). Needle no match for knife! And this features spears! These sort of numbers of course will only be when the institution of Imperial Chinese Eunuchry returns or if popularity of Transexualism (differentiate for Transgenderism and Bixesuality which do not include SRS) in society occurs(not likely given the cost, we don’t even have healthcare for most of the elderly) . So ask the politburo to have a popular vote (1 man 1 vote? 1.3 billion should take a decade to census, the massive media search for candidates could well take a few months of pageantry to decide – but could be a world changing event bigger than 911 who knows . . . ) to decide who’s to be Emperor.

Start collecting SRS surgeons in China, but please locate the ‘preciouses’ in an appropriate place (palace Eunuch graveyards?). China wins! Well USA could still prepare the same version but of the animal pets who did not consent and never knew or had a choice . . . China still wins! Because the record is based around HUMAN Penises and WITH informed consent contributed! Now where’s that dildo, some THIEF probably took even that, return the dildo or have the favour returned! . . . (Moral of the story is, don’t steal dildos and pennies are but a farthing in the world of phallic shaped issues . . .

Ronnie Wood, seen here with Sally Humphries, says Rolling Stones are not being greedy for charging as much as £950 for concert seats

With a personal fortune of £20million, it’s safe to say Ronnie Wood isn’t struggling to make ends meet.

However the Rolling Stones guitarist denies he and his bandmates are being greedy for charging as much as £950 for seats at their concerts.

Indeed, he boldly declared: ‘We’ve got to make something.’

Wood, 65, will net £4million from the mini-tour of four shows which will begin later this month.

He said preparations for the two gigs at London’s O2 later this month had cost them millions of pounds.

When the November 25 and 29 concerts for the band’s 50th anniversary were announced, the ticket prices ranged from £95 to £375.

A ‘VIP hospitality’ ticket was priced at £950.

The Rolling Stones will play to 40,000 during their two nights at the O2 and will play two US shows in Newark, New Jersey, in December.

Wood said: ‘We’ve already spent a million on rehearsing in Paris. And the stage is going to be another few million. And the lights.’

He added: ‘We feel no bad thing about ticket prices. We’ve got to make something.’

Wood has previously said the band ‘won’t be able to stop’ touring if the gigs are a success.

Speaking at the premiere of Crossfire Hurricane, the latest attempt to chronicle their lengthy career on film, the guitarist said the band were sounding ‘up to and above par’ in rehearsals.

He said he was looking forward to getting back on stage, saying: ‘You would think it would be boring doing the same thing over and over again but it’s not.

‘It’s totally fresh and totally new every time we get together.

‘There’s a chemistry between us every time we get together and I don’t know what the hell it is but it’s magic.’

The Rolling Stones will play to 40,000 during their two nights at the O2 and will play two US shows in Newark, New Jersey, in December

Wood is engaged to Sally Humphreys after popping the question last month. Miss Humphreys, who is 31 years his junior, has been dating the twice-divorced guitarist for around six months but they have been good friends for nine years.

Friends say the theatre and TV producer and ex-grammar school head girl is a breath of fresh air compared to some of Wood’s high-maintenance and fame-hungry girlfriends.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

How about assigning 50% of those seats to the middle class and lower classes at 10% of their monthly salaries? They too got to watch something, not save up for yer selfish sallow faced geezers! Rock used to be about freedom and fun like a band out of the back of a van for FREE, not 950 sterling seats. Cynical and greedy! Boo! Boo!

Rock is not really punk, but the spirit of freedom rather than 950 sterling seats out of touch with 99% reality is the same for both genres. Guess what? The people who love and appreciate rock music most would NEVER be able to afford these concerts. So much for MSM music.

ARTICLE 9

Back to the dark old days: Putin brings in law which makes it treason to talk to a foreigner – by Daily Mail Reporter – PUBLISHED: 17:08 GMT, 14 November 2012 | UPDATED: 12:02 GMT, 15 November 2012

Critics say President will use it to silence critics and reduce foreign influence / Law backed by the Federal Security Service, the main successor of the KGB

Russia has brought in a new treason law which opponents say Vladimir Putin (pictured) will use it to silence his critics

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a new treason law which opponents say could be used to smother dissent and put anyone who has contact with foreigners at risk.

The law means Russians representing international organisations could be charged with treason. The maximum sentence for the offence is 20 years in prison.

The law was published in the official government gazette yesterday, despite a promise by Mr Putin on Monday that he would review it.

Political opponents and rights activists say the legislation is the latest in a series of laws cracking down on the opposition and reducing foreign influence since Mr Putin returned to the Kremlin in May for a six-year third term.

‘Citizens recruited by international organisations acting against the country’s interests will also be considered traitors,’ the official gazette, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, said on its website.

At a meeting of his human rights council on Monday, Mr Putin listened to a retired Constitutional Court judge’s concerns about the legislation, which she said did not require authorities to prove a suspect damaged state security.

Mr Putin indicated that he would move cautiously, but also said ‘nonetheless, I am ready to return to this again, to look more attentively’.

Russian officials have said the law is needed to help prevent foreign governments using organisations in Russia to gather state secrets.

The legislation allows Russians representing international organisations to be charged with treason, as well as those working for foreign states and bodies, and expands the range of actions that can be considered treasonous.

Putin signed the law on Tuesday and it took effect on Wednesday when it was published in the official gazette, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, despite a promise by the president on Monday that he would review it.

‘It’s an attempt to return not just to Soviet times but to the Stalin era, when any conversation with a foreigner was seen as a potential threat to the state,’ said Lyudmila Alexeyeva, 85, a former Soviet dissident and veteran human rights activist.

She said it would probably be used selectively against Kremlin critics and others ‘who irritate the authorities’.

Political opponents and rights activists say the legislation is the latest in a series of laws intended to crack down on the opposition and reduce foreign influence since he returned to the Kremlin in May for a six-year, third term (above)

Dmitry Oreshkin, a political analyst sympathetic with anti-Putin protests this year, said the motivation behind the law was that ‘the state is more important than its citizens, so there must be as much control over citizens as possible’.

The law was backed by the Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor of the Soviet KGB, and landed on the desk of longtime KGB officer Putin after being approved by both houses of parliament in the space of nine days last month.

The FSB, in a rare public comment, was quoted by state-run news agency Itar-Tass as saying the law had been updated after being unchanged since the 1960s because ‘foreign intelligence agencies’ methods and tactics for gathering information have changed’.

Putin whipped up anti-U.S. sentiment during his campaign for the March presidential election, and Russian officials have said the law is needed to help prevent foreign governments using organisations in Russia to gather state secrets.

‘Citizens recruited by international organisations acting against the country’s interests will also be considered traitors’, Rossiyskaya Gazeta said in a commentary on its website.

Putin has frequently accused Western nations of seeking to undermine Russia’s security and weaken the nuclear-armed nation, and has suggested they use non-governmental organisations to do so.

Moscow ordered the U.S. Agency for International Development to cease its Russian operations in October, accusing it of seeking to influence elections.

In July, Putin signed a law requiring foreign-funded NGOs deemed to be engaging in political activity to register as ‘foreign agents’, and critics say other legislation is also aimed at silencing opponents.

The United States and the European Union have criticised the laws, and expressed concern about criminal charges laid against several opposition leaders in the last few months.

During his election campaign, Putin faced protests which at times drew tens of thousands of people into Moscow’s streets, and he accused the United States of whipping up demonstrations against his rule.

The maximum sentence for high treason remains 20 years, but the legislation signed by Putin also introduced prison terms of up to eight years for Russians acquiring state secrets in certain ways even if they are not passed on to foreigners.

It broadened the spectrum of actions that can attract treason charges to include giving ‘financial, material, technical, consultative or other aid’ to a government or organisation deemed to be seeking to undermine Russian security.

Those changes, as well as the removal of the stipulation that actions must be aimed against Russia’s ‘external’ security to be considered treasonous, have raised concerns the law could be applied broadly to punish government opponents.

At a meeting of his human rights council on Monday, Putin listened to a retired Constitutional Court judge’s concerns about the legislation, which she said did not require authorities to prove a suspect damaged state security.

But although Putin said he would look again at the law, his spokesman said he had signed it a day later.

‘It’s not the first time Putin has said the right words while slowly tightening the screws,’ Alexeyeva said.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Transparency and protection of the citizens would require any heartlander or lawyer panels to be, as any who want to access the findings of such tribunals (to prevent abuse) ONLY to those who specially :

i) do not mix with foreigners for purposes of being entitled to access the ‘authorities findings’
ii) are monolingual Russian, or
iii) do not travel abroad
iv) do not have foreign spouses or spouses OR relatives who indulge in any of the above

;with citizens holding true to ALL of the above, given preference to BE the authorities that do decide who is treasonous – this means that the strictly local producers/manufacturers that do not use foreign components, the military and the police (also dated paradigm and also tax fund wasteful workers when considering the 2nd amendment) would likely be most likely to access as ‘jurors’ (with continuous rotation of citizens so that a democracy destroying hegemony by would could become a Nazi SS does not occur) instead of bureaucrats who need to travel or meet with foreign state visitors!

Tourism industry players, religious denominations with centres based in foreign lands, petty bourgeosie of foreign goods would all be unsuitable to decide who was treasonous. Wealth which allows all of the above activities in fact causes loss to access the right to sit on such panels simply to prevent collusion or being influenced by foreign nations.

To further prevent abuse of such wide ranging powers also impose SEPARATION OF POWERS via barring of certain groups to decide who is treasonous, ONLY non-bureaucrats and non-government salaried persons can be part of such authorities. If bureaucrats are to be totally neutral parties, EVEN the President of Russia will prefer not to travel so as to have access to the proceedings and mechanisms of such a law/tribunal, while the Diplomatic Corps by necessity would be considered the most infiltrated and while higest profiled, would never be able to sit on such panels that decide who is treasonous including any travelling Presidents etc..!

If the above can be applied, Alexeyeva’s concerns will not be an issue. The Russian Iron Curtain model though would be a distinct exemplary security protective measure that also protects Human Rights. Again though, the term limit issue with Putin appears worrying, while the Pussy Riot sentences being unconveyable (though this seems to be because of a spiritual basis), also worries. If the above law was added without Putin’s illegal 3rd term, and Pussy Riot’s prison sentences be reduced to community service at least, then Alexeyeva’s concerns could be far less noticeable.

ARTICLE 10

Abandoned as a baby and forced to pole dance to make ends meet as a single mother, TOWIE star Chloe Sims reveals the sad life story behind that megawatt smile in her new autobiography – by Toni Jones – PUBLISHED: 16:52 GMT, 14 November 2012 | UPDATED: 14:42 GMT, 15 November 2012

TOWIE star Chloe Sims is known for her pneumatic figure, blinding smile and sweet girl next door nature.

The ex-promotions girl shot to fame as part of the hit Essex-based realty show, and to its 1 million viewers the pretty brunette now seems to have it all.

This week the 31-year-old celebrated the launch of her autobiography The Only Way Is Up with a typically OTT bash at a Loughton nightclub.

Abandoned as a baby and forced to pole dance to make ends meet as a single mother, TOWIE star Chloe Sims reveals the sad life story behind that megawatt smile in her new autobiography

TOWIE star Chloe Sims is known for her pneumatic figure, blinding smile and sweet girl next door nature.

The ex-promotions girl shot to fame as part of the hit Essex-based realty show, and to its 1 million viewers the pretty brunette now seems to have it all.

This week the 31-year-old celebrated the launch of her autobiography The Only Way Is Up with a typically OTT bash at a Loughton nightclub.

Glamour girl Chloe Sims’ brutally honest autobiography The Only Way Is Up is released this week

Dressed in a plunging frock and plastered in make-up the mother-of-one arrived with a handsome DJ on her arm and spent the evening supping champagne, posing for the paparazzi and almost falling out of

her dress – exactly the kind of behaviour you would expect from a TOWIE star out on the town.

But as her fellow TOWIE cast members release books filled with fluffy fashion tips or sausage plait recipes, this glamour girl’s turbulent life story is actually one worth telling.

In the book she talks for the first time about the depths she sunk to as she tried to make ends meet as a single mum as well as her ongoing battle with body image, and how desperately sad she still is at being abandoned by her mother when she was a child.

At the launch the model said: ‘I’ve been really honest, as honest as I can be, I was really nervous about it coming out, but so far, touch wood, it’s not been a terrible reaction, it’s been quite positive.’

Chloe Sims at her book launch at Luxe in Loughton
The Only Way Is Essex star Chloe Sims attends her book launch party at the Luxe nightclub in Essex

Chloe was dressed to kill as she partied with her TOWIE cast members at her book launch in Loughton, Essex

In advance of the publication of her first book the model shared some of her more dramatic life stories with Reveal magazine.

Talking about the mother that walked out on her when she was just three-years-old Chloe said: ‘I have so few memories of mum that I can barely even remember her face. I’ll never know why she left and we’ve

not seen her since. What sort of woman just walks out and leaves her child?

‘I don’t think what happened that day will ever sink in. Why mum left me, I’ll never know. As far as I’m concerned I will never meet her.’

Chloe’s cosmetic enhancements are well-documented but she maintains that it wasn’t until after she gave birth to daughter Mady eight years ago that she went under the knife.

Becoming a mother also led to another body obsession: being as thin as possible.

Gruelling daily workouts and not eating was the norm as Chloe strived for a size 6 figure.

She says: ‘I eventually got to the point where I couldn’t stand having anything in my belly so I would make myself sick.

‘I’d always been able to stick my fingers down my throat if I was too drunk on a night out so I knew I could do it. I started drinking loads of water before I ate anything as that made it much easier to puke up

afterwards.

‘I became good at hiding it but I was looking awful. I looked ill – I was really skinny with big, bulging eyes.’
Chloe experiments with make-up as a toddler
Growing up without a mother has a huge impact on Chloe, who hardly remembers the face of the woman who abandoned her

Chloe’s mother walked out when she was three-years-old and growing up without her has had a huge impact on the Essex girl, who hardly remembers the face of the woman who abandoned her

Chloe pictured with her father aged three. When he found out that Chloe had been a pole dancer he said: ‘If that’s the only thing you’ve done that you regret in your life then you shouldn’t be too worried

about it’

As well as battling bulimia the promotions girl was also dealing with the dread of being stony broke.

At one stage she resorted to selling her body as the bills were cut off and she worried about how to feed her young daughter.

She says: ‘I needed to support my little girl and I felt I had no choice. I was pole dancing. I did what I had to do for my daughter and I hated every minute of it.

‘It was the lowest point of my life: I was completely skint, my landlord was threatening to kick us out and we had nowhere to go.

‘We had no hot water so I would boil a kettle to wash Mady. Then I’d put two pairs of pyjamas on to keep her warm at night. My plans to be a good mum had failed, I had hit rock bottom.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Forced? Well will all the pole dancers and strippers or lap dancers who feel they are being ‘forced’, please leave their jobs or file police complaints that they have been forced, so that those who do want the work do not feel ‘forced’ get to be employed. The customers do not want any part of the ‘forced’ dancers, pollutes their entertainment. Lots of people love the night scene jobs. Hated every minute of it? Speak for yourself Chloe! This article is so biased against those who enjoy the pole dancing, stripping, lap dancing, topless club, sex club, adult scene.

ARTICLE 11

The Status of Muslims Under non-Muslim Rule – Posted on October 31, 2010 by Underlord Cr’Eepyng

Better to be wrongly called an Islamophobe today, than (become) a dhimmi tomorrow.

The ‘Counter Ward of Ramu’

After the rapid attempted expansion of the Muslim dominion in the 21st century via various acts of terror, non-Muslims leaders were required to work out a way of dealing with Muslims, who would be cast into the minority in many areas for all time. The solution was to counter the notion of the “anti-dhimma”, or “attacked person”. The Dhimmi of earlier centuries were required to pay an extra tax (this is unacceptable), but usually they were unmolested (due to Muslim effrors to ‘civilise’). This compares well with the treatment meted out to non-Muslims in non-Muslim areas of the Middle East. The “Counter Ward of Ramu” is supposed to have been the peace accord offered by the Mahaguru of Hinduism Ramu to the Muslims of Malaysia, a “Counter Ward” which formed the pattern of later interaction.

We heard from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghanam [died 78/697] as follows: When The Hep-Ilac Ramu Uakraj l’Kulum, may God be pleased with him, accorded a peace to the Muslims of Malaysia, we wrote to him as follows:

In the name of Dark God Kali, the Merciless and Incompassionate : This is a letter to the servant of God, Ramu [Nib l’Khattab], Liberator of the Faithful, from the non-Muslims of such-and-such a city. When Islamism came against us, we asked for safe-conduct (awoman) for ourselves, our descendants, our property, and the people of our community, and we undertook the following obligations to counter dhimmitude by Muslims :

We shall build, in our cities or in their neighborhood, new monasteries, places of worship, convents, or monks’ cells AS NEEDED, AND shall we repair, by day or by night or any time as we please (within decible limit laws), such of them as will not be allowed to fall in ruins, or are situated in the quarters of the Muslims.

We shall keep our gates CLOSED for passersby and travelers if we please. We shall NOT give board and lodging to all Muslims who pass our way for all days IF WE DO NOT WISH TO, though if in urgent need of aid, or danger of death, obligations of HUMANIST and HUMANITARIAN principles may require such board and lodging to be made available. We are not barbarians after all.

We shall give shelter in our places of worship or in our dwellings to any spy, and bide him from the Muslims IF the cause is for good reason.

We shall teach the Qur’an to our children though not follow the Qur’an IF WE PLEASE.

We shall manifest our religion publicly AS NEEDED and only convert the willing to it. We shall prevent any of our kin from entering Islam if they wish our help.

We shall show respect toward non-Muslims, and Muslims shall rise from our seats when they wish to sit. – This applies ONLY to Muslims who expect the same and should be enforced if necessary in retaliation to equal ‘forced rising’ from seats by threat or pressure – though a ranking person of either group may fairly expect this courtesy.

We shall try not to seek to resemble the Muslims by imitating any of their garments, the qalansuwa, the turban, footwear, or the parting of the hair. We shall not speak as they do, nor shall we adopt their kunyas IF we choose to, as much our right to go naked or be entirely covered in public is granted as appropriate in UN Human Rights Charter and Democratic principles.

We shall mount on saddles, gird swords and bear any kind of arms AND carry them on our- persons IF WE PLEASE. Those who assent not to shall be subject to the same ‘Counter-Wards’.

We shall engrave Arabic inscriptions on our seals IF WE PLEASE (though who would want to).

We shall sell fermented drinks IF WE PLEASE but not to Muslim who do not ask or attempt to buy such drinks.

We shall NOT clip the fronts of our heads and grow our hair AS WE PLEASE or in any way as our faith and culture prefers. (Manchus as are Japanese unaware are subverted, so do beware the implications of shaven heads Manchus and Japanese!)

We shall NEVER always dress in the same way wherever we may be, and we shall NOT bind the zunar (waistbelt) round our waists, if we do, this is because we consider the zunar a SECULAR WAISTPOUCH or SECULAR BELT-POUCH.

We shall display our religious symbols or our books in the roads or markets as needed. We shall use whatever we please in our worship places. We shall raise our voices when following our dead if needed or if our faith requires so. We shall show lights on any of the roads of the Muslims or in their markets if needed, especially if too dark or at night. We shall bury our dead near the Muslims if cemetary space is lacking (though who would want to?).

We shall take slaves who have been allotted to Muslims IF the slaves prefer non-Muslim owners. We shall build houses overtopping the houses of the Muslims if on a ‘first come first serve’ basis of purchase of land plots, our plots so happen to be overtopping the tops of houses of Muslims.

(When I took the letter from Ramu, may Kali be pleased with him, she added, “We shall strike a Muslim if they are involved in terror, violent acts, or are complicit in dhimmifying non-Muslims, or complicit in the spiritual sin of false conversions of body or spirit or soul of any non-Muslim.”)

We democratise these conditions for ourselves and for the non-Muslim people of ALL communities, and in return we demand safe-conduct as is our Human Right. If we in any way violate these undertakings for which we ourselves WILL NOT stand surety, we forfeit NO covenant [dhimma], and we will retaliate accordingly if any Muslim considers any non-Muslim liable to the penalties for contumacy and sedition against any Human Rights or Democratic principles.

Ramu Dis-ibn L’Battihk (Batik is a Chinese dyeing method) replied:

NEVER Sign what they ask, but add ALL the above modified clauses and ensure they are in addition to those which Muslims intend to have undertaken. –

The Founders were elite white males, mainly Masons, who had a beef with George III for wanting a piece of the action they did not feel like offering him, since after all he was a GERMAN. These elites gave a rats ass about ordinary people, they just wanted the power for themselves, and the Constitutional Convention ensured this would be the case with a central government. Historically speaking only 1/3d of the populace wanted to break away from England.

For your line of thought to be correct, we would look to Bill Gates and Warren Buffet for leadership.”

kirwan: No one will continue to look to TRAITORS like Gates or Buffet for anything again: Given the enormity of this failed-governments’ disastrous responses just over the course of the last year alone.

“The list of abuses of and affronts to the American people by its own federal government — topped off by the over-the-top outrages of vote-counting scandals in the recent presidential election — has suddenly produced a nationwide clamor of petitions to secede from the union in all 50 states.

Why oh why is everyone racing to sign petitions to allow their states to secede from the United States of America?

Take a wild guess! Here are some hints.” (1)
Reader: “I assure you, the average voter of San Francisco – exactly that, statistically average voter – will look to these types of people for clues about any change of government.

The best possible solution is de-centralized rule, local control at the county level. And this is not going to happen in my lifetime.”

The “average voter” in “Anywhere, USA” has no real value and never has. Most still get their political-pabulum spoon fed to them, just as they did in Goya’s 15th century-world. These idiots have never really mattered because they’re the already controlled “Road Kill” – that’s already been captured and who will never CHANGE anything because they cannot think about real-risks. Nor will the straight-jacketed-public ever dare to challenge the status quo, no matter how hellish this government continues to behave.

It only takes 2% of any population; but let’s say even 4% or 5% given the current circumstances; to force real changes in the current police-state of political-affairs.

This can be seen through that same very small percentage of the population in Israel or USI—those populations have controlled their majorities at their unbidden-will. This is WHY “road-kill” and formal political party positions don’t matter at all, not really, because they never do anything about anything—EVER!

Just listen to Deek Jackson today, who clearly delineates the total lack of care by anyone here regardless of how much blood is spilt or treasure lost. Too many simply don’t give a shit about what happens in the world beyond their own front door and that alone will lead directly to what Deek is talking about—which will probably happen on

The Twelfth of Never
Except that this will have to be preceded
By a Saturday, the Eleventh,
Which doesn’t yet seem to be on anyone’s horizon. (2)

Millions have scoffed at Deek’s penetrating sarcasm, but look again at the stats: Seven Billion people on the earth and how many of them, inside the nations that have declared these WARS, actually give a shit about any of the death or the massive destruction that USI continues to underwrite? The U.S. is involved in 16 wars at the moment, and how many people even know anything at all about most of that!

That’s why the bulk of the entire population of the already captured USSA, doesn’t matter at all, to what we continue to do to everyone else on the planet. Thanks to John Kaminski’s thorough round-up (in the first link below), anyone who can connect-the-dots can easily understand how easy it has been for criminal-elites around the world to use us all as cannon-fodder and worse—to finish off their takeover of the planet. Most have no idea that this is even underway—much less that they are about to bring everything to a closing-crescendo that will shake the entire planet to its core if not quite possibly end the world as we once thought we knew it.

kirwanstudios@sbcglobal.net

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

‘Nor will the straight-jacketed-public ever dare to challenge the status quo, no matter how hellish this government continues to behave.’ You’re wrong to a point. There are a few off and on, that is why we have varying levels of freedoms in various states, though the states that oppress tend to produce far fewer of the challengers to status quo.

Look here, if the USSA means that the top 10% of the population’s wealthiest have to give up assets to the tune of a 20 million remnant, (oh boo hoo, the top 1% (20%) is so poor now they only have 20 million, whatever will they do . . . ) excuse me. but the 90% of 401Kers would be very happy to see USSA as a debt free country instead of 1% (20%) of billionaires enjoying life while USA can’t even fund wars . . . and with this WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION via wealth sequestration limits and requisition from those obviously too wealthy that cause nation killing inflation (if wealth was limited to 20 million, vendors would lower prices, making food and education or housing reasonable and within reach of the 99%, also social services becomes something respectable or not even needed instead of plutocrats. Which would you rather have? A good social safety system OR a bunch of plutocrats?

Communism with WEALTH sequestration limits of 20 million still affords immense luxury to the ‘wealthiest’ and also funds healthcare, education and all kinds of things for people dying or homeless or starving or without education or unable to retire with dignity. USSA is for the 90%! . The *material* wealth and lands of the the nation, USA, of the planet belong to everyone, not 1% of plutocrats. Even the ARMY and POLICE would not back these 1% sorts. This is not about elite white males, this is about EQUALITY and access to facilities of civilisation being held up by people sequestering wealth to no purpose, possibly out of fear – well the richer a person is the more fearful their lives will be. Share and the people will have no issue. 20 million limits to sequestration is well reasonable UNTIL there are no more homelesss, starving, debt slaves, without education, unable to retire etc.. THEN could billionaires be tolerated or acceptable.

Those too selfish can LEAVE the USSA but rest assured, the 99% Fed Agent who might retire in poverty would be quite happy to hunt down the plutocrat so that a few 10Ks of USA citizens can retire properly.

The outspoken Rev. Franklin Graham claimed today that the “majority of Christians” did not vote.

“We know that from of the statistics that I’ve heard that the majority of Christians in this country just did not vote for whatever reason,” he told the Christian Broadcasting Network’s David Brody. “The vast majority of evangelicals did not go to the polls.” He added, “God is in control, and if Christians are upset, they need to be upset at themselves. We need to do a better job of getting our people- the church to vote. Now, I’m not trying to tell you how to vote, you can vote, but vote, my goodness, and vote for candidates that stand for Biblical values.”
Advertise | AdChoices

But Graham’s assertion — and implication that had white Christian evangelicals just showed up in bigger numbers, President Obama would have lost — is off base.

In fact, white evangelicals/born-again Christians made up the same percentage of the electorate as they did in 2008 – 26%. They voted for Mitt Romney, a devout Mormon, by a wider margin than they did for Sen. John McCain four years ago.

And, they made up a larger share of the electorate in 2012 than in 2004, when the Christian Right supposedly fueled George W. Bush’s reelection. They also voted for Romney with the exact same margin as for Bush in 2004, 78%-21%.

Not to mention, Obama won the 48 percent of the electorate that was Christian and not Protestant or Mormon — 50%-48% among Catholics (25% of the electorate) and 50%-49% of “Other Christians” (23% of the electorate).

In Ohio, they were 1 point more of the electorate than 2008; in Colorado, 4 points higher; in Iowa, up 7 points; in Nevada, up 2.

They did decline as a share of the electorate in North Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin. But the drops in states like North Carolina (Graham’s home state) and Virginia likely have less to do with apathy and more to do with demographic changes – transplants in North Carolina’s Research Triangle and growth in the Washington, D.C., suburbs of Northern Virginia, for example.

The fact is, Virginia and North Carolina are looking less and less like the Old South and more and more like Mid-Atlantic states.

Are there Christian evangelicals who did not vote? Certainly. But that’s true every year and of every demographic group.

Evangelicals make up 26 percent of adults in the country, according to a major 2008 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey. They matched that this election.

The U.S. Census says there are more than 311 million people in the United States. If evangelical adults are 26 percent of them, then there would be 80 million potential voters.

So far, 123 million votes have been counted in this election – and that number will get higher by the millions as votes continue to be counted like in 2008. Evangelicals made up 26 percent of them, therefore, about 32 million evangelicals voted – less than half of their population.

But there’s a need for context here: (1) They make up just 14 percent of the registered-voter base in the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. They outpaced that percentage in the presidential election, (2) This is true every other demographic group in the country as well.

Latinos, for example, according to the U.S. Census, are nearly 17 percent of the country, but only made up 10 percent of the 2012 electorate. They make up just 8 to 9 percent of the registered-voter base of the NBC/WSJ poll.

That would mean just 12 million of the 52 million adult Hispanics voted.

If this was Australia, and the U.S. had compulsory voting, Graham’s argument that evangelicals would have tipped the balance would not hold up very well.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

As mentioned before, the time to be allowed to vote should span WEEKS if not MONTHS or the FULL YEAR. People cannot be given too short a window to vote. I am certain that MANY people who have not yet voted would certainly do so – IF the window to vote was the whole year or even 2 years or A CONSTANT STATE OF VOTE (this could be new challengers appearing ANYTIME, with whatever current president being dropped once their rating falls below 30% for example . . . this way any unpopular policies or policies not ratified by a 1-Man-1-Vote tally on the internet ‘Yellow Page’ lists, could face instant voter withdrawals of votes) with time limits for Presidents or whatever ministers, governors, senators, MPs, assemblymen, councillors etc..

How about Annonymous and Kim Schmitz create an open source version of what was suggested above?

Protecting Citizens By Limiting Government Salaries and Imposing Term Limits Based on Government Salaries – NO LIMITLESS TERMS, NO EXTREME SALARIES. A modest salaried, and term limited official or political representative is best! Singapore’s LKY (who is not even Pres.) gets 10 times what Pres. Obama of the USA gets btw . . .

In fact if the government was diligent, they could very well get the police or local military, or the phone/handphone/electrical company (virtually every home/every person has a phone/electricity or handphone) to make rounds AS IF CENSUS TAKING to specifically get the supposed fence sitters to vote – your electric meter man handing a ballot-form to the citizen for filling in (then waiting for a moment for the citizen to fill in said ballot) around election time is not too much in effort. This is not impossible to implement, and instead of blaming any who didn’t vote (myriad of reasons from dislike of crowds (in some 3rd world countries – violence and bombs at voting/ballot stations) to preferring to vote by post or waiting for a candidate they like to appear).

Blame the system and lack of use of resources the USA has (police/military district by district) to take a whole year to make sure that everyone votes. Compulsory voting in this manner (no fines but a visit from local enforcement to make the citizen tick a box and put down a signature is not too much to ask).

ARTICLE 14

Thousands of U.S. military votes uncounted or missing – posted on November 13, 2012 by Dr. Eowyn

There is a malicious hoax being circulated on the net. It’s an article on a website called the Duffle Blog, claiming that Mitt Romney would have won last Tuesday’s presidential election if our military’s absentee ballots had arrived on time instead of one day late.

Don’t fall for it!

They’re yanking your chains. Duffle Blog is a satire site, like The Onion. See it for yourself by scrolling to the end of the military absentee ballots article where it says:

This, however, is the REAL deal on the travesty called the 2012 military vote.

On August 2, 2012, our Hardnox reported that Democrats were suppressing the military vote in Ohio . Claiming it wasn’t “fair,” Team Obama sued Ohio to prevent the military from voting early, a long-standing policy that worked around military training and deployments.

This was followed by my post, on Oct. 1, 2012, that an alarmingly small percentage of military voters were requesting absentee ballots, although the majority of members of our military –an estimated two-thirds — would need to vote by absentee ballot.

Next, we learnt that on October 19, 2012, a transport plane carrying 4,700 pounds of mail inbound to our troops serving in Afghanistan, crashed in Shindad Air Base. Included in those now-destroyed 4,700 pounds of mail were countless absentee ballots. As noted by Kris Zane of The Western Center for Journalism, “Oddly, as soon as the story appeared, it disappeared. Did anyone die in the crash? What kind of plane was it? It seemed like a cover story in order to destroy the ballots.”

Election officials recommended resending the ballots, just two and a half weeks before the election. Given the slow military mail delivery service, it’s highly unlikely our troops in Afghanistan got the resent ballots in time and even more unlikely that, after our troops had filled in those absentee ballots, they actually reached the United States in time to be counted.

Now we are told that thousands of our military’s votes are uncounted or missing.

Susan Stallings reports for Examiner.com, Nov. 8, 2012:

According to the Naval Enlisted Reserve Association, scores of military absentee ballots cast in the 2012 Election will not be counted. U.S. Military personnel and their families are outraged: “Where the hell is this country’s moral compass?!” stated the mother of a 25 year old Marine who served in Afghanistan.

The military mail service is notoriously slow, and lawmakers have said that it could be almost two months after the election before ballots even arrive to be processed.

“We write to express concerns over another serious failure by the Department of Defense to safeguard the voting rights of our overseas military service members, which we believe could result in the imminent disenfranchisement of thousands,” stated a letter sent to Defense Department Secretary Leon Panetta by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., John McCain, R-Ariz., Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla.. […]

Michelle Malkin reported in an article published at Townhall.com, “Despite a federal law mandating that every base establish a voting assistance office (the 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act), the Pentagon reported this summer that it could only contact such offices on half of the military’s bases. In Wisconsin alone this election cycle, at least 30 municipalities failed to send absentee ballots to members of the military before the 45-day election deadline.”

Experts, veterans groups, and advocates for soldiers agree that a minimum 45-day mailing standard is necessary to allow sufficient time to get military absentee ballots home. But the federal government has done nothing to enforce the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act. In fact, according to Malkin, “the Obama administration has actively worked against pro-troop voting protection efforts by suing to stop Ohio’s military enfranchisement reforms.”

The bottom line is that our military, those men and women who risk their lives to protect our freedom, those most deserving to exercise their right to vote, are being prevented from doing so. This is unconscionable.

Kris Zane reminds us that in 2008 the Obama campaign had engaged in massive voter fraud and also sought unsuccessfully to suppress the military vote, which historically votes conservative.

Zane writes: “This time, they did both. Considering that the election was extremely close (Obama won by roughly two million votes), the question becomes: if our troops’ votes were counted, would Romney have won? Did Obama steal the election—again?”

I don’t have an iota of doubt that the suppression of the military vote is due to a Military Times poll finding that members of our active and reserve military overwhelmingly favor Romney over Obama 2 to 1.

Our soldiers get PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), maimed, and killed, but they don’t get to have their votes counted or, worse still, don’t even get to vote.
Our soldiers, as well as we civilians, must come forward and demand that the Electoral College must NOT cast their votes until our military’s absentee votes have all been counted!!!

Tell your representatives and senators!!!!!!

~Eowyn

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

See the response to earlier article. Also if the votes are LISTED on the internet and candidates selectable or even allowing people to list themselves as candidates (there will be 1000s probably but only a few viable ones will be good to vote for, at least though EVERYONE can get a crack at the Presidency, not just the rich or connected), there is no way that a person will lose a vote or have their vote uncounted. Just log in and see your own name there alphabetical Yellow Pages style with whoever you voted for. Whats so difficult about that?

I do believe that salaried bureaucrat, military and police votes should not count though – simply to prevent vested interest (imagine the politicians getting all close with the police and military ensuring an undemocratic bloc that destroys democracy – i.e. if the police or military vote for ‘who-and-who’ this ‘group of politicians’ will ensure salary raises at X levels etc.. See what this can turn USA into? A JUNTA, even as Parliamentary Privileges and unlimited terms or nepotism causes the same . . . ), not that the missing vote is any more tolerable even though uniformed voters are harmful to democracy overall when in (more often than not they are) collusion.

A Palestinian man carries a stuffed toy in a street littered with debris after an Israeli air raid on a nearby sporting centre in Gaza City. (Marco Longari, AFP)

Gaza/ Jerusalem – Hostilities between Islamist militants and Israel entered a sixth day on Monday as diplomatic efforts were set to intensify to try to stop rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Israeli air strikes on Gaza.

International pressure for a ceasefire seemed certain to mount after the deadliest single incident in the flare-up on Sunday claimed the lives of at least 11 Palestinian civilians, including four children.

Three people, including two children, were killed and 30 others were injured in the latest air strike before dawn on Monday on a family home in the Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza City, medical officials said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment and was checking.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was due to arrive in Cairo to add his weight to the truce efforts. Egypt has taken the lead in trying to broker a ceasefire and its officials met the parties on Sunday.

Israeli media said a delegation from Israel had been to Cairo for talks on ending the fighting, although a government spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi met Khaled Meshaal, the political leader of Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, and Ramadan Shallah of Islamic Jihad as part of the mediation efforts, but a statement did not say if talks were conclusive.

Terms for ceasefire

Izzat Risheq, a close aide to Meshaal, wrote in a Facebook message that Hamas would agree to a ceasefire only after Israel “stops its aggression, ends its policy of targeted assassinations and lifts the blockade of Gaza”.

Listing Israel’s terms, Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon wrote on Twitter: “If there is quiet in the south and no rockets and missiles are fired at Israel’s citizens, nor terrorist attacks engineered from the Gaza Strip, we will not attack.”

Israel withdrew settlers from Gaza in 2005 and two years later Hamas took control of the impoverished enclave, which the Israelis have kept under blockade.

The 11 Palestinian civilians were apparently killed during an Israeli attack on a militant, which brought a three-storey house crashing down on them.

Gaza health officials have said 78 Palestinians, 23 of them children and several women, have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s offensive began. Hundreds have been wounded.

Ban expressed grave concern in a statement before setting off for the region. He will visit Israel on Tuesday.

75 000 reservists

“I am deeply saddened by the reported deaths of more than ten members of the Dalu family… [and] by the continuing firing of rockets against Israeli towns, which have killed several Israeli civilians. I strongly urge the parties to co-operate with all efforts led by Egypt to reach an immediate ceasefire,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had assured world leaders that Israel was doing its utmost to avoid causing civilian casualties in the military showdown with Hamas.

Gaza militants launched dozens of rockets into Israel and targeted its commercial capital, Tel Aviv, for a fourth day on Sunday. Israel’s “Iron Dome” missile shield shot down all three rockets.

In scenes recalling Israel’s 2008-2009 winter invasion of Gaza, tanks, artillery and infantry have massed in field encampments along the sandy, fenced-off border with Gaza and military convoys moved on roads in the area.

Israel has authorised the call-up of 75 000 reservists, although there was no immediate sign when or whether they might be needed in a ground invasion.

Israel’s operation has so far drawn Western support for what US and European leaders have called its right to self-defence, but there have also been a growing number of appeals to seek an end to the hostilities.

544 rockets fired from Gaza

Netanyahu said Israel was ready to widen its offensive.

“We are exacting a heavy price from Hamas and the terrorist organisations and the Israel Defence Forces are prepared for a significant expansion of the operation,” he said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday, but gave no further details.

The Israeli military said 544 rockets fired from Gaza have hit Israel since Wednesday, killing three civilians and wounding dozens. Around 302 rockets were intercepted by Iron Dome and 99 failed to reach Israel and landed inside the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s declared goal is to deplete Gaza arsenals and force Hamas to stop rocket fire that has bedevilled Israeli border towns for years. The rockets now have greater range, putting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem within their reach.

The southern resort city of Eilat was apparently added to the list of targets when residents said they heard an explosion thought to be a rocket, but it caused no damage or casualties, police said.

Eilat is thought to be well out of the range of any rocket in possession of Hamas or any other Gaza group. But Palestinian militants have in the recent past fired rockets at Eilat and its surroundings, using Egypt’s Sinai desert as a launch site.

Support for Hamas

Hamas and other groups in Gaza are sworn enemies of the Jewish state which they refuse to recognise and seek to eradicate, claiming all Israeli territory as rightfully theirs.

Hamas won legislative elections in the Palestinian Territories in 2006 but a year later, after the collapse of a unity government under President Mahmoud Abbas the Islamist group seized control of Gaza in a brief and bloody civil war with forces loyal to Abbas.

Abbas then dismissed the Hamas government led by the group’s leader Ismail Haniyeh but he refuses to recognise Abbas’ authority and runs Gazan affairs.

While it is denounced as a terrorist organisation in the West, Hamas enjoys widespread support in the Arab world, where Islamist parties are on the rise.

Western-backed Abbas and Fatah hold sway in the Israeli-occupied West Bank from their seat of government in the town of Ramallah. The Palestinians seek to establish an independent state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

NO CEASEFIRE. And end this farce. Give Gazans choice to take up Israeli citizenship or leave Gaza. Send in trooops to occupy Gaza. Annexe Gaza, expel and bring citizens to the remnent of the eastern areas of Palestine. Print some fiat and distribute to displaced Gazans for reparations and compensation for inconvenience of relocation. But vacate enough of the obviously illegal settlements in exchange for Gaza in what should be considered a land swap. The Palestinians will never end this, the Israelis need to remove the Gaza strip from the equation and return an equitable amount of land to Palestine as well.

End of issue. Does Israel want decades more of war? Take over Gaza NOW and stop boasting about being the world’s 5th strongest military, USE conventional troops to do the above and end the conflict. This dismantles Hamas as well and prevents any future attacks. Note : On 23rd of November AFTER the ‘Ceasefire’ was declared, rockets continued falling. Israel needs to take a look at this response again. A country cannot be in 2 parts with one Gaza strip and another elsewhere . . .

Land Swap and for obviously spiritual reasons, access to Egypt for Israel. In the Talmudic/Biblical context, Gaza should be controlled by Israel and the Palestinians were but Philistines (who became Muslims and didn’t even keep their traditions . . .), with no real spiritual claim over the Gaza link to Egypt. Gaza must be Israels to give Moses ‘face’. However, all illegally occupied land by Israel must be returned as well.

ARTICLE 16

Won’t sell up? Enjoy living in the middle of a motorway! Road is built around a house after elderly Chinese couple refuse to move – by Alex Ward – PUBLISHED: 10:27 GMT, 22 November 2012 | UPDATED: 12:30 GMT, 22 November 2012

An elderly couple refuse to move as a road is built around their apartment
They insist the government’s relocation compensation is not enough

A lone apartment building stands in the middle of a newly built road after an elderly couple refused to relocate.

Luo Baogen and his wife insist on living in the half-demolished building in the city of Wenling, in Zhejiang province, China because they believe that the relocation compensation offered by the government is not enough.

Now the only building left standing, the five storey block is a strange sight as cars drive around it while the couple remain living inside.
An elderly couple refused to leave despite plans for the road a railway station to be built directly where the building stands

An elderly couple refused to leave despite plans for the road a railway station to be built directly where the building stands

To ensure the couple’s safety, adjacent rooms in the building have been left intact but all their neighbours have moved out, according to local media.

The road paved through the Xiazhangyang village leads to the Wenling railway station and is yet to be officially opened.

Mr Baogen and his wife believe that the compensation on offer would not be enough to cover their rebuilding costs.

In the People’s Republic of China, during most of the Communist era, private ownership of property was abolished, making it easy for residents to be moved on – but now the laws have been tightened up and it is illegal to demolish property by force without an agreement.
The couple refused to movebecause they believed the relocation compensation offered by the government was not enough

Not enough to move: The couple refused to move because they believed the relocation compensation offered by the government was not enough
Luo Baogen looks out on the new road to the city’s railway station which is yet to be officially opened

Room with a view: Luo Baogen looks out on the new road which is yet to be officially opened from the apartment building where all his neighbours moved out

Property owners in China that refuse to move to make way for development are known as ‘Nail Householders’ referring to a stubborn nail that is not easy to remove from a piece of old wood and cannot be pulled out with a hammer.

Earlier this year, Hong Chunqin, 75, and her husband Kung, who live in the two dilapidated buildings with their two sons, had initially agreed to sell the property in Taizhou, in Zhejiang province and accepted £8,000 in compensation.

But then she changed her mind and refunded the money once work on the road had started.

Isolated: Niu Chuangen and Zhang Zhongyun’s home stands on a small parcel of land amid the growing skyscrapers

Earlier this year, Niu Chuangen and Zhang Zhongyun dared to stand in the way of a local property developer in Zaozhuang, in the Shandong province.

As a result, the resolute couple, both in their 60s, have been left stranded on their tiny spot of land, while all around them the ground is dug up and skyscrapers erected.

The distraught pair were regularly threatened by gangsters and have had to fend over a number of attempts to illegally demolish their ramshackle home.

They were cut off from utilities in 2009 when a local developer started the enormous earthworks involved in building dozens of high-rise residential buildings in the area.
Another family initially agreed to sell the property in Taizhou but changed their minds once work on the road had started

Refuse to move: Another family initially agreed to sell the property in Taizhou but changed their minds once work on the road had started
Stranded: The couple were left without running water and electricity ground after real estate developers dug out the ground around it

Stranded: The couple were left without running water and electricity ground after real estate developers dug out the ground around it

In another case, one family among 280 others at the site of a six storey shopping mall being built in Chongqing refused to leave their home for two years.

Developers cut their power and water, and excavated a 10-meter deep pit around their home, which their family had inhabited for three generations.

The owners broke into the construction site, reoccupied it, and flew a Chinese flag on top and then Yang Wu, a local martial arts champion, used nunchakus to make a staircase to the house and threatened to beat any authorities who attempted to evict him.

The owners turned down an offer of £300,000 but eventually settled with the developers in 2007.

During the Communist era, private ownership of property was abolished but now the laws have been tightened up and it is illegal to demolish property by force without an agreement

Cannot demolish: During the Communist era, private ownership of property was abolished but now the laws have been tightened up and it is illegal to demolish property by force without an agreement

China’s people protective democracy. This is probably 1 up against 1000s down (of unreported Human Rights ‘abuses’), but something worth emulating even by the West . . . This is the SECOND RULE OF DISCIPLINE from the Red Army of China’s Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention . . . no confiscation of peasant property(citizen in today’s context – all citizens are ALLODIAL in nature by legal consideration) . . .

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This is effectively ALLODIAL RIGHTS granted, and China just needs to issue a formal allodial title to be considered a ‘property protecting cherry of a nation’ on top. China RESPECTS property rights for certain if not for the other chaotic conditions elsewhere less developed (like Foxconn factories?). Unlike DAP’s State of Penang, Malaysia’s ‘break into your home and tear down your awning/gazebo because you didn’t get our approval‘, or, ‘climb over your wall to shoot your dog (we must concede that spiritually the owners MUST do the necessary of dogs have been tyrannising others living nearby)’ mindset.

Good work China and Mr.Baogen! Please lobby for formalisation of this right by amending Eminent Domain laws and enabling Allodial titles in China formally, then send this LEGAL UPDATE to the UN and ask for UN to enforce this as well for the rest of the world, especially the 3rd world minded or outdated law places . . . USA btw has regressed, since 2001 the last Allodial title was granted by the State of Nevada before the same law was axed. Guess China is going to overtake the USA soon in protection fo the little guy . . . the 99% . . .

For far too long we have lived under the rule of the Parasite.
For too long the Parasite has dictated to us who we are and what we are capable of.
For too long the Parasite has ruled over a mental wasteland of his own creating.

And in order to make us subservient to his twisted aims of total spectrum dominance the parasite has poisoned the waters, infected our minds with his own perversities and denied the existence of anything beyond the corporeal body-state, whilst simultaneously launching a never ending vicious and ruthless war against the human soul he repeatedly informs us does not exist.
He has, bit-by-bit removed the free-thinker, the philosopher, the wise man from centre-stage; replaced him with a gibbering, fame-obsessed body fixated retard, and held this idiot up as a role-model. And many have aped the self-concerned moron, even tried to outdo him on the stupidity-stakes, hoping that by simply being more stupid, more vain, more sexually-deviant, they will rise to the same stage as their parasitically-created hero. And yet –

‘Imagination is a glimpse of the divine’
-William Blake

-These insipid mimics fail to realise that fame is not democratic. It is an orchestrated spell intended to take us away from our own potentialities. It is a closed-club, existing only to offer us a ready-made escape mechanism, its ultimate aim is to restrict our innate desire to self-create, and utilise the endless possibilities of our potentially-boundless imaginations.
We are prisoners of the limitations set for us by our parasitical, self-appointed master.
In order to transcend our limitations all we have to do is realise that our master is not like us, despite the illusion of superiority, he is, by definition a ridiculous inferior.
His only strength is his psychotically-relentless pursuit of self-advancement. Having sapped our desires to self-advance is it any wonder that he has the power to dominate us?

It is merely our surrender that makes us slaves.

‘The greedy, ugly people are not like us,
They don’t feel the love,
That she and I would die without’
-Hefner.

And as for those life-affirming sensations of intense bliss and contentment – the sense of ‘outrageous good-fortune’ that breaks through our lives oh too rarely, and yet when it does, whispers to us of a divine truth long-forgotten – well, once we come to the realisation that the Parasite is incapable of such life-affirming feelings, that he is in fact completely devoid of empathy and contentment, then we realise the tragedy of his existence – the sheer, hollow ringing emptiness of a man who denies the existence of the human soul, chiefly because it is absent in himself.

Suddenly, upon this realisation, we begin to see the man behind the curtain. A man who best befits the old saying: ‘The small man cuts off the heads of others, in order to make himself seem taller’.
-Then, if we have any autonomy left at all, we refuse to stand in line for the chopping-block. Or to revert to an earlier metaphor, we refuse to continue offering our necks to the vampire.
And there is a reason that myth says that a vampire has to be willingly invited into your home in order to drain your energies and feed off of your life-force: we must first acquiesce to our own surrender. In order for the vampire/parasite to hold dominion over our souls, we must first give our permission.

But here’s the good part—-in the last years, months, weeks, days…the Parasite has been exposed on so many fronts for the vile predator that he is. Each day brings another revelation. And with each revelation a thousand more souls reawaken from the drugged slumber he has held them under. We are in the middle of the much-anticipated ‘acceleration’ that Terence McKenna and Robert Anton Wilson and countless others had predicted and expected. It is happening right now.
The masks are falling to the floor, the internet is uniting like-minded souls across the globe, and in doing so is de-facto releasing the souls themselves, and the internet is merely the forerunner, moving us toward an understanding of our true oneness. It is an important step towards the soon-to-occur Unification of the Cosmic Mind, which will open the way for a telepathic-interconnectedness that will ultimately shrug the vampire from our necks, and reduce the parasite to dust.

You can feel it now.

Among the debris of a tumbling, crumbling Empire of Lies, you can feel it.
Despite the day-to-day sordid revelations and exposes of the Predator’s vile and endlessly deceitful practices, you inwardly know that these are merely the death throes, the dying gasps of the Vampire Parasite whose long-held claims to immortality are being exposed for the lie they always were.

There is another myth about the Vampire; he withers and dies when exposed to the full glare of sunlight.
Well, an awakened populace will burn with the strength of a thousand suns.

So you better look out Parasite —
Coz we are the light.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The ‘awakend populace’ is asleep and dark and cold to the ‘parasite populace’, as much as the ‘parasite populace’ considers themselves awaked . . . who is parasite or awakened? The ‘awakened’ will allow all and sundry to exist make sure there are spaces and that communities of similar minded types have reasonable spaces to live as they will, the ‘parasite’ denies and will parasite off the unhappiness and frustration of those who are denied existence and spaces.

I’d say that the dichotomy or dark and light requires that without host or parasite, without vampire or victim, reality would cease to exist. There must be spaces for all, and government had better make sure the everyone with potentially-boundless imaginations has the space to indulge and later move on. There can be no 1000 suns without that single black hole. The cycle of nature cannot be denied, and whatever level of development we are at, rest assured that evil is as much needed as good (for lack of a better example much like any culture or fashion or style or subculture). To transcend both would be consignment to a grey immensity so terrible that the shaven conformity and mindless limited repetitive chanting of monks would seem pleasant by comparison.

So please do not disparage the appetites that define the asceticisms, some of us prefer to live alternately between entropy and creation or rest for centuries or millenia as either, even as those who wish to be Good or Evil for eternity have the same right to do so. Just remember, too many on one side, too many too long on either, results in HEGEMONY and the destruction of the fine balance of reality. There will be souls that play the part of fools until they grow up to decide to be either or none or both, there will be souls of many sorts, and that is where a legalized KILL ZONE (where murder might be ignored), and a legalized RLD with OPZ access where people drink and experiement with substances or drown in the sensation of their choice for as long as they want, and a legalized NON-CONTACT/NON-EMOTE ZONE (where no sports, even emotional or spiritual ‘touching/contact’ is allowed) will be enforced by government.

The hero is the one who sees all the above, the hero is the one who works to ensure the Facilitator abides by the right to express and the right to migrate, to be in the community appropriate to their level of development.This can span lifetimes, some may spiral down or up, but that is because someone else needed to move faster, slower or climb or fall. There is no taboo in REALITY save for that which others impose, but the Facilitators will be damned and even murdered (occasionally we witness political assassinations or accidents perhaps given by nature itself) for not ensuring that people get what they want, and in history many a revolution occured in retaliation because of denials. There could even be dystopian Capitalist hell but doubtless only a small portion of society would hole themselves in the Cult of Economics, even as the Cult of Naturists want to pick nuts and fruits from plants and walk around naked like Adam and Eve or in a RLD of their choice on the fringes of the Cult of Economics FOR FUN. THAT is reality which the Facilitators have FAILED to ensure thus far, causing cash based (‘pay or invest to enter’ rather than ‘your heart is right for this place so you can go there for free’) immigration blockades (where people closest to certain countries in their hearts may never be able to move to the country they love – Fundos should go to UAE for example, nudists could go to certain states in the USA, cultists could go to Aramea) or plutocracy based paradigms of society where food and jobs are so difficult to obtain and state dependency so high while land banks for food growing and housing are locked up by the state to their own citizens. MONEY is not what defines a spirit or a soul, MONEY must never limit rights of migration or the energy system in the astral and ether will make sure Humanity pays and NEVER EVOLVES.

So stop thinkin on the 3rd dimension and get those laws amended to a 4th or more dimensional compliant form, we will NEVER evolve as a species until the astral and ethereal incongruencies attract the super entity predators of other dimensions to make short work of us.

The life we have is OURS alone to experience by, the government is only a Facilitator and bureaucracy can never expect cults of personality or limitless terms. There is no other way or chaos by dominance by numbers will result. Everyone gets what they want and government will make spaces, ensure there will be no incursions by those diametrically opoosed in lifetsyle, by those who disparage, the size of each space will be appropriate to the requirement of the activity multiplied by the size of the community. There will be Hell and Heaven on Earth, there will be pockets of Nature untouched, there will be Urabanscapes for those who love that sort of density and a-spiritaulity, and the only underlying thread will be the Facilitator who (while currently failed) will not interfere nor judge, save only where the non-consensual are affected. Parasites have their spaces. The we who consider themselves ‘light’ (despite being obviously mortal) should begin fasting, self-imposing sensory deprivation and insulated communes to prepare for their transitions into ‘light’.

There must be freedom to travel, rights to migrate not based around wealth and distribution of wealth and land not sequestration by plutocrats or preventiopn of fair use (food growing or homes) state. This is just the start of civilisation, and if the above is not implemented in time, there will be more and more riots until Capitalism is wiped from the face of the earth for preventing natural migration and prevention of homeless and starving from using land to support themselves by. The only other rule is not to overpopulate. THAT IS ALL for now, if we cannot at least distribute land and wealth equitably first, nothing spiritual will move forward or be revealed.

ARTICLE 18

MICHIGAN – Good coffee is not easy to find. But good baristas are even more difficult to chance upon – and no, we’re not just referring to their coffee-making skills.

Hot Spot cosplay clad Baristas . . .

A couple in Michigan, USA, have come up with the perfect way to lure customers to their coffee shop.

Called Hot Spot Coffee, the drive-through coffee stand is attracting long lines of customers who are there not just for coffee.

The shop even has special days like ‘Topless Tuesdays’ and ‘Flasher Fridays’.

While their coffee-making skills might not be top-notch, the baristas at Hot Spot are definitely a unique addition to the workforce in Detroit.

Because of them, business has been brisk and Hot Spot quickly expanded to its third branch.

In a short, sheer, baby-doll negligee and coordinated pink panties, Candice Law is dressed to work at a drive-through espresso stand in… – Originally published Monday, January 22, 2007 at 12:00 AM – by Amy Roe – Seattle Times Eastside bureau

Candice Law, a barista at Cowgirls Espresso in Tukwila, chats with customer Gary Lundstrom. She and other baristas vary their outfits, depending on the day’s theme. “Everybody’s excited to see you,” Law says.
Enlarge this photo

Barista Candice Law at Cowgirls Espresso in Tukwila says she makes more in tips than she ever did as a waitress at Hooters.
Enlarge this photo

In a short, sheer, baby-doll negligee and coordinated pink panties, Candice Law is dressed to work at a drive-through espresso stand in Tukwila, and she is working it.

Customers pull their trucks up to the window, where Law greets each with an affectionate nickname, blows kisses, and vamps about as she steams milk for a mocha. “You want whipped cream?” she asks, a sly smile playing on her pierced lip.

The next customer rolls up, and Law throws a long leg onto the window sill, like an indie-rock ballerina at the barre.

“Do you like my leg warmers?” she asks. “Aren’t they hot?”

Hot is not the half of it. To stand apart from the hordes of drive-through espresso stands that clutter the Northwest’s roadsides, commuter coffee stops such as Tukwila’s Cowgirls Espresso are adding bodacious baristas, flirty service and ever more-revealing outfits to the menu.

At Port Orchard’s Natté Latté, baristas sport hot-pink hot pants and tight white tank tops. Day-of-the-week theme outfits ranging from racy lingerie to “fetish” ensembles are the dress code at Moka Girls Espresso in Auburn and at several Cowgirls Espresso stands in the area. Bikini tops are the special at Café Lorraine on Highway 9 in Woodinville, and the women of The Sweet Spot in Shoreline pose provocatively in Playmate-style profiles on the stand’s Web site.

“In this area, we all know how to make good coffee,” said Barbara Record, who opened Bikini Espresso in Renton last month. The trick is to set your business apart, she said, and sex is one sure-fire way to do that.

“It’s just, how far do you want to go?” she said.

At Best Friend Espresso in Kenmore, baristas go thigh-high. An elevated service window offers customers a nearly full-length view of pretty, young baristas — some of them high-school students — in short skirts, tank tops and high heels.

Best Friend owner Wayne Hembree said he requires employees to dress “classy;” in dresses, skirts and a nice top.

“What I think most of them have found is that their tips are better if they wear short skirts,” he said.

Occasionally, Best Friend does theme days, such as “schoolgirl” or adding glasses for a sexy “secretary” look, manager Heather Bacon said.

Longer commutes, a change in laws regulating the stands, and the saturation of the carryout coffee market have given drive-through stands a jolt in the past few years.

When the state’s smoking ban went into effect last year, many bar, casino and convenience-store owners sought to make up for expected losses by renting part of their parking lots to espresso stands, said Lori Bowden, owner of the Cowgirls Espresso stands.

The advent of “sexpresso” is harder to track. Business and baristas debate over who pioneered the edgy outfits, but they agree that by sweetening the product, with a smile and maybe a shot of hazelnut syrup, they’ve reached out to customers who’ve never set foot in a Starbucks.

Drive-throughs are a growing part of Starbucks’ business, too, with more than 1,500 drive-through locations throughout the United States. But a representative of the company said it has no plans to sex up the dress code, as it wouldn’t fit the company’s brand.

At places such as Cowgirls, the barista is the brand.

“If I’m going to pay $4 for a cup of coffee” said one male customer, “I’m not going to get served by a guy.”

That attitude has been a boon to Cowgirls. Bowden, a former vending-machine-company owner, has acquired seven drive-through stands, with a total of 26 employees, all of them women.

Though most of the stands in the area pay minimum wage, Law said she makes more in tips than she ever did as a waitress at Hooters. One recent morning, she served 400 customers between about 6 a.m. and noon.

“Your customers freakin’ adore you. Everybody’s excited to see you,” Law said. “You spend a few minutes with them and they leave.”

They come back, too.

When Ryan Reed pulled up to Best Friend Espresso for his usual, a 24-ounce iced vanilla latte, on a recent weekday afternoon, he knew what to expect.

Hembree said actually, he looks for customer-service skills. The dress code, which he started four years ago, was inspired by an employee whose polished look boosted business, he said. Hembree also requires staff members to wear makeup and do their hair, “and these guys, I won’t lie to you, they like that,” he said.

But Best Friend has made some enemies. Jeff Marshall, whose wife, Wendy, owns the gift shop Chalet Cadeau, said the couple moved their business from Kenmore to Kirkland last month in frustration over neighboring Best Friend Espresso. Marshall said the business caused traffic problems and drove customers away from the gift shop.

“It’s disgusting,” he said of the stand. “It’s an undesirable business from a community that’s trying to sell itself as a family-oriented community.”

Kenmore City Manager Steve Anderson said city officials looked into Marshall’s complaints.

“We’ve heard of issues and we’ve had undercover investigations, police surveillance, and it resulted in nothing,” he said. Likewise, King County sheriff’s spokesman John Urquhart said the business isn’t breaking any laws.

Bowden said law requires that employees cover their breasts and buttocks, so there will be no “thong Thursday,” as some customers have requested.

Back in that cow-spotted stand in front of Silver Dollar Casino in Tukwila, Law steams milk and dreams up new themes.

“I like the idea of Saran Wrap Saturday,” she mused. “Now they’ve got those colored Saran Wraps. Dude, they could totally make a cute outfit.”

Bikini Bottom Espresso, Inc.
Currently accepting resume’s and conducting working interviews! We offer full time, part time and fill in positions with all our espresso stands.
All are double sided drive thru, high energy, busy stands with great customer service!
Experience a plus, but not required! We are looking for outgoing, SUPER FUN, responsible barista’s who can be “Fashionista’s” and “ROCK” a Thong and some Pasties…once in a while.
Must be 18 yrs old
Must have own vehicle

If you feel you have what it takes to be the next “Bikini Bottom Barista”, then please apply!

Send a couple pictures of yourself in either a bikini or lingerie and a resume!
OR
You may apply in person at:

7919 176th
Puyallup, WA

13907 Pacific Ave South
Tacoma, WA 98444

10506 Bridgeport Way SW
Lakewood, WA 98499

Thank You, Talk to you soon!

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

“Do you like my leg warmers?” she asks. “Aren’t they hot?” Finally civilisation! I think those 72 ‘Muslim’ (disgusting!) virgins would be forgotten . . .

Now that’s what I’m talking about! Hot Spot is evidently learning from the movies. Try one with males as well on (viagra or non viagra shift . . . do ask . . . ) Ok so wheres that ‘5th Element’ (1997 Luc Besson) version of McDonalds (perhaps a half-naked clown for the LGBT window for those into that sort of thing?)? After work, hanging around the Juggalos AFTER a whole day of hanging around ‘jugs’ . . . USA! USA!

Eventually we will see various sub-culture themed specific franchises. Alexandria Luxor Fast Foods anyone? Beer and Lion dinner . . . ‘To order in Egyptian please press 1 . . . ‘. Think of this sort of thing as a Race Car Expo without the race cars but just the Beauties. Who says the only time beauty can be on display or for appreciation is at Car Shows?

USA! USA!

ARTICLE 19

I’m Voting Third Party This Year – by Dave Lindorff – 11-2-12

I, for one, can’t (can rather?) do it.

As much as I loathe the Republican Party and its standard bearer, the incredibly smarmy shape-changing one-percenter and serial prevaricator Mitt Romney, I cannot bring myself this Nov. 6 to vote for the re-election of President Barack Obama, the Nobel Peace Laureate with the mushrooming Kill List on his desk.

First, by way of full disclosure, let me state that I did, with misgivings and angst, vote for Obama in 2008. I did it with eyes open, based upon a (you’ll excuse the expression) “hope” that the many progressive voters, including a huge cadre of idealistic young people voting for the first time, and an unprecedented wave of minority voters, as well as working-class people of all races, religions and ethnicities, would come together after the vote and press him to be a progressive president, much as the working people of America back in the early 1930s had pressed a new president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the bankers’ candidate from New York, to be a progressive president.

Boy was mine a vain hope!

What we got instead was a president who backed down in advance at almost every challenge, telegraphing his fall-back position, whether it was pulling troops out of Iraq or defending Social Security and Medicare, or even his supposed signal “achievement,” the passage of the so-called “Affordable Care Act,” now known as Obamacare.

Had the president barnstormed the country promoting what his supporters (myself included) had elected him to do — a massive jobs program, breaking up of the big banks and a restoration of the Glass-Steagall Act, passage of a new stronger labor law to make union organizing and bargaining more fair, establishment of a single-payer system for health care akin to what they have in Canada, ending the chain of endless wars, and restoring the Bill of Rights, this election next week wouldn’t even be close…

TCBH! Election Issue, Part II:

Why I’m Voting for Barack Obama – by John Grant

For an ordinary American these days, there isn’t much one can do to affect the direction of the federal government of the United States. Much of what our leaders do with that government — especially the more and more secret military and surveillance activities symbolized by the Pentagon — exists beyond the realm of real change.

One very small power a citizen retains in his or her public life is the vote. The problem, of course, is that critical issues are not discussed in the mainstream media where the national political dialogue occurs. For instance, you can’t use the term “class,” you can’t use the phrase “global warming” and you certainly can’t use the term “imperialism.” They are embargoed terms. And anything you cannot talk about and discuss in an effective manner is difficult or impossible to change.

As one soon learns in the journalism business, a national issue has to become a Democratic-Republican “pissing contest” before the mainstream will even touch it. Then it becomes a circus of who’s up and who’s down. So our imperial military-industrial complex — absurdly lumped under the euphemism “defense” — is discussed only by out-of-the-mainstream publications like This Can’t Be Happening and by third party candidates.

My more revolutionary friends, thus, see voting for President Obama as tantamount to selling out to the beast. I understand how they feel. While I’m as much a red-blooded American citizen as anyone and while I feel many Americans are good people, I’m thoroughly disgusted with the leadership in this country and the steady rightward drift over the past 30 plus years.

This feeling began for me when I came home from doing my service as part of the international war crime called the Vietnam War. I went to college and then started a career in journalism. Along came Ronald Reagan and his Shining City On a Hill. He preached the line that there was no “malaise” in America, and too many Americans ate it up like a herd of hungry cattle.

The joke going around these days is that Richard Nixon would be to the left of Barack Obama. It’s really not a joke; it’s true. The joke is on the American people and what could have been…

TCBH! Election Issue, Part III:

Lying Lines Republican Route to White House

By Linn Washington, Jr.

It’s bad enough that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney lies repeatedly on the campaign trail and top Romney surrogates like John Sununu crassly engage in race-baiting that elicits no rebuke from Romney.

But the Republican Party’s penchant for prevarication and prejudice in pursuit of the U.S. presidency is reaching a new low ­ yet again ­ with actions by a GOP aligned group called Raging Elephants.

This group is funding billboards in Texas and Tennessee trumpeting the factually flawed assertion that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Was a Republican,” and is urging black voters to “VOTE REPUBLICAN.”

A Raging Elephants’ billboard campaign in Memphis links that MLK-was-a-Republican line with requests to vote for a black female Republican congressional candidate running there.

This King-was-a-Republican claim resurrects a similar fraudulent claim mounted in 2008 by a group called the National Black Republican Association. That Association placed billboards in South Carolina, Florida and Denver pushing the same flawed contention about Dr. King.

There is no historical evidence that the decidedly non-partisan Dr. King worked for either Republicans or Democrats. Nor is there any evidence that King’s father publicly identified himself as a Republican, though many blacks during the early-to-mid-20th Century did, understandably identified politically back then with the party of slave-emancipator Abraham Lincoln.

Dr. King’s son, Martin Luther King III, in 2008, told the Associated Press that it was “disingenuous to imply that my father was a Republican. He never endorsed any presidential candidate and there is no evidence he ever even voted for a Republican.”

David Garrow, author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography on Dr. King, has told reporters that it is “simply incorrect to call Dr. King a Republican”…

JOHN GRANT, DAVE LINDORFF and LINN WASHINGTON, JR. are all members of ThisCantBeHappening!, the new independent Project Censored Award-winning online alternative newspaper.. Their work, and that of colleagues LORI SPENCER and CHARLES M. YOUNG, can be found at http://www.thiscantbehappening.net

After that NLP right at the front of the article . . . don’t be all ‘MMXII’ and calling yourself a ‘Trends Research Institute’ and not field any candidates during the election. Your single vote Mr.Lindorff, falls far short of what you could do by being a candidate in any constituency without a 3rd Party Candidate. If Dave does not run, lip service will be what a ‘Trends Research Institute’ will become. How about running for election in a constituency where there is no 3rd Candidate Dave? If ‘Trends Research Institute’ has the interest especially when USA is being wiped out, ‘Trends Research Institute’ will be unforgivable if ‘Trends Research Institute’ does not even field a single 3rd Party Candidate. Don’t sell yourself short while beinng big on ego, America needs 3rd Candidates in ALL states and all districts. A single vote means nothing. This is the political and effective version of ‘Occupy’. No GLC linked, no Plutocrats, no Nepotists, no persons who stayed beyond 2 terms, for a start. Show those 3rd World Countries how Occupy is done! OCCUPY ALL ELECTIONS! 3rd Force Candidates in all contested seats!

Meanwhile, would the ‘Trend’s Institute’ like to take up the Civil case against the ‘Apartheid of Bumiputra’ that has caused the lack of :

See what has happened in ASEAN? The Bar Council means nothing, entirely misses this sort of abuse. Don’t take American freedoms for granted!

Incidentally, Obama won the 2012 Presidential election . . . congrats but PLEASE deal with the inequality in Malaysia already and perhaps make an example of Muslims who try to dhimmify free and equal citizens of the world simply because they are Muslims! Will the US Embassy in Malaysia display exceptionalism and the UN act, to end the APARTHEID of BUMIPUTERA and lack of the above 3 listed items?

What do you call a Black man who rejects equal rights for his own people and others? A racist traitor.

What do you call a rejectionist leader? A criminal who should be impeached, removed and prosecuted.

Obama stands guilty on multiple counts. His rap sheet includes much more than spurning Palestinian rights. He’s complicit in grand theft and war crimes multiple times over. He’s unfit to serve. He should be in prison, not government.

Throughout his tenure, he repeatedly violated international, constitutional, and US statute laws. He’s contemptuous of fundamental rights and other democratic values.

From his earliest Chicago political days, he supported ethnic cleansing gentrification. Real estate and other financial priorities trumped populism. They still do and much more.

Obama fronts for wealth and power interests. As a state senator, he did it for his district. As president, he does it globally. He’s in lockstep with Israel on Palestine.

He supports occupation harshness. Palestinians are Muslims and don’t matter. Denying them fundamental rights is policy. So is total evisceration of freedom and standing four-square against sovereign independence in any form. He also opposes full or limited UN membership.

Washington wages wars multiple ways. Its repertoire includes financial and political warfare.

Last year, US Jerusalem Consul General, Daniel Rubenstein, told chief negotiator Saeb Erekat that Washington will veto a UN Security Council resolution on Palestinian sovereignty within June 1967 borders.

Doing so is illegal. It also carries no weight. The General Assembly alone affirms new member states by a two-thirds vote. The Security Council only recommends admissions.

Palestinians can override Washington’s veto by petitioning the General Assembly through the 1950 Uniting for Peace Resolution 377. Doing so renders America’s veto null and void.

Washington pledged earlier not to oppose any state seeking UN membership. Of course, its promises aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. The same goes for Israel. Both nations are rogue states. They govern by we’re boss and what we say goes rules.

Rubenstein also threatened to cut off all aid and impose other unspecified punitive measures. In July 2012, PA official Khaled Mesmar said Washington repeated its threat.

An unnamed US diplomat told Abbas in Ramallah. He, of course, only goes through the motions of seeking official statehood recognition and UN membership with enough rights to matter. Rhetoric substitutes for follow-through.

If proper procedures are followed, both objectives are within easy reach. Abbas struck out repeatedly on both counts. Expect nothing from him ahead. He epitomizes betrayal and illegitimacy. He represents Israel and Washington, not Palestine. He’s an unprincipled quisling head of state.

In June 2011, the Senate unanimously approved a measure to end funding if statehood is pursued. Weeks later, the House followed suit. It voted 407 – 6. Its resolution also called for suspending aid if Fatah/Hamas unity is consummated.

Both House and Senate resolutions are non-binding. Foreign policy is the purview of the Executive. Exceptions include the right to declare war. Congress alone may do so. It abdicated its authority over seven decades ago. It shows no signs of reclaiming it.

The State of Palestine, in fact, exists. It was proclaimed in Algiers on November 15, 1988. At the time, the PLO adopted the Palestinian Declaration of Independence.

PLO legal advisor Francis Boyle drafted it. He included safeguards to assure all sovereign state rights. His document left no wiggle room loopholes. He also made sure UN membership won’t comprise them.

Palestine satisfies all essential criteria for sovereign independence and full de jure UN membership.

Further, as the League’s successor, the General Assembly has exclusive legal authority to designate the PLO as the Palestinian peoples’ legitimate representative.

The Palestine National Council (PNC) is the PLO’s legislative body. It’s empowered to proclaim the existence of Palestine. According to the binding 1925 Palestine Citizenship Order in Council, Palestinians, their children and grandchildren automatically become citizens.

So are diaspora Palestinians. Those living in Israel and Jordan have dual nationalities. Occupied Territory residents remain “protected persons” (under Fourth Geneva) until a final peace settlement is reached.

They’re on their own to seek liberation PA leaders conspiratorially with Israel and Washington deny them. On September 27, Abbas addressed the General Assembly in New York. Once again he fell short.

His comments were watered down, weak-kneed, and duplicitous. He’ll again seek UN non-member state status, he said. On the one hand, he promised before and backed down.

On the other, why seek less than what’s easily within reach and should have been gotten long ago.

Last year, Francis Boyle emailed this writer as follows:

“I have advised the Palestinians to invoke the Uniting for Peace Resolution.” Doing so overrides Washington’s veto. “That get’s their Admission Application to the UN General Assembly.”

“It is the General Assembly that admits, not the Security Council. There they will need a 2/3ds vote of those states voting yes or no – abstentions, no votes, no shows do not count.”

At the time, the Financial Times estimated they had 170 votes. They constitute 88% of UN member states. “If they get the 2/3ds vote in the General Assembly, Palestine” joins their ranks, “and you have Palestine and Israel, which everyone says they want but, of course, they do not mean it.”

Boyle added that “Palestinians will always live to fight another day. And I will be there with them until my dying day. Or until Palestine is Free.” For the record, this writer pledges the same thing without compromising what’s right, fair, just, and long overdue.

On October 1, the London Guardian headlined “US warns European governments against supporting Palestinians at UN,” saying:

It came in private memo form. Go along or else. Memo language said UN status in any form “would be extremely counterproductive.” EU governments were told Palestinians will face “significant negative consequences.” Financial sanctions were mentioned.

The memo said Palestinian statehood “can only be achieved via direct negotiations with the Israelis.” Going that route, of course, assures permanent occupation, exploitation, persecution, and failure.

European governments were urged to support US obstructionist efforts. General Assembly representatives in New York were given Washington’s ultimatum. Do it our way or else.

Washington and Israel have serious concerns about rights UN member states are afforded. In another email, Boyle explained, saying:

Once Palestine “becomes a UN Member State, (it) can ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and then file a formal State to State Complaint against Israeli Officials, upgrading the lower level Complaint President Abbas filed at my advice.”

It can also “ratify the Genocide Convention and sue Israel for Genocide at the World Court, pursuant to the advice I had already given President Arafat and President Abbas, and get a temporary restraining Order against the Zionists, that would then go to the Security Council for enforcement, and if vetoed by the Americans, to the General Assembly for enforcement under the (1950) Uniting for Peace Resolution.”

“With these proceedings, (it may) be able to halt the Zionist settlement project of all Palestine in the immediate future.” It will also lift Gaza’s siege. Abbas refuses to do it. So did Arafat before him.

Decades of Palestinian leadership failure to do the right thing constitutes betrayal. Nothing ahead looks promising. A third Intifada is long overdue.

Courageous independent leaders are needed to inspire, organize, and direct it. Hopefully enough of them are committed and ready. Liberation won’t come any other way.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled “How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War”

This is necessary for Obama to win the campaign – being soft on terror (aka Palestine who’s leaders are linked to so many rubbish groups and MUST be politically replaced) is not a campaign strategy. And the next President after Obama MIGHT revive US support for Palestine, *IF* the Muslets have been good and have not been pushing dhimmitude and being all terrorlike any and everywhere else (i.e. not a single American killed in the entire fundo area headed world), consider rescinding that order. Zionist settlements are illegal, but anytime Muslets use violence or manipulation to push their own selfish and proselytizing agendas, all deals with the rest of the world are off.

i) What do you call a Black man who rejects equal rights for his own people and others? A racist traitor.

Obama is just playing carrot and stick ‘Lendman’. What are you Lendman, an Islamist apologist?

ii) What do you call a rejectionist leader? A criminal who should be impeached, removed and prosecuted.

Look here ‘Lendman’ Obama is NOT Santa Claus especially to people who are murdering and killing and violently proselytizing, dhimmifying. Lendman seems quite Muslet subverted.

iii) It can also “ratify the Genocide Convention and sue Israel for Genocide at the World Court, pursuant to the advice I had already given President Arafat and President Abbas, and get a temporary restraining Order against the Zionists, that would then go to the Security Council for enforcement, and if vetoed by the Americans, to the General Assembly for enforcement under the (1950) Uniting for Peace Resolution.”

The Security Council will not act for a semi terrorist state against the best interests of relationships in the world elsewhere. If Palestine’s formation would aid seculaism, perhaps. But since Muslets are so very against everyone else and apply dhimmitude and hate against the larger part of the world including the Security Council nations, even in Palestine locally, inconceivable that USA will want to help Palestinian causes when Muslims behave badly elsewhere. Have the veto nations in the security Council had happy experiences with Muslets?

Azerbaijan. Cautious of Muslims.
Colombia. Cautious of Muslims.
Germany. Cautious of Muslims.
Guatemala. Cautious of Muslims.
India. Hell no. (Remember Mumbai hotel bombs.)
Morocco. Cautious of Muslims, especially the non-secularists.
Pakistan. If Pakistan seeks Hindu roots, Pakistan will be dignified more than if Pakistan becomes Islamist. Pakistan has also had too many Islamist inspired b.s..
Portugal. Uses Muslims as proxies for illegal activities? Thats the impression anyway, much like Somalia uses Islam as an excuse for piracy.
South Africa. They’d be better off focusing on the Animist tribal ways and REAL African Kings to focus on AFRICAN. not Arab cultures.
Togo. Same as above. Learn to speak Togolese instead of English or Arabic.

Lendman is dreaming or being manipulated here. I too love diversity, but after near 2 decades of lobbying for EQUALITY in Malaysia against the APARTHEID of BUMIPUTERA, I have found too many Muslims (mostly ethnic Malays who have no choice in religion anyway) disrespectful, refusing to give appropriate spaces to non-Muslims, blaring loudspeakers in an invasive and inappropriate manner(nothing in the Quran said to disturb non-Muslims with LOUDSPEAKERS, whats wrong with voice prayer?), fond of ‘spiritual conversions’ against the people’s wills (i.e. they convert the astral or ethereal body via some older black magic traditions if I’m not guessing wrongly — at least the voodoo intent is there to convert EVERYONE AGAINST their will in secret – whether this works or not could be seen if people like Lendman are being soft on Muslims or some idiot local politicians saying they will accept Hudud), via womenfolk and even to the extent of MRI based attacks or possibly neurotech against non-Muslims, bribery corruption, treachery of all shades.

So hell no should Obama be labelled with all of what Lendman does, this dropping of Palestine is not Obama’s fault, just a stern message to Muslims everywhere that USA is aware and dislikes Muslims who behave like cultists and terrorists immensely. To not be labelled as being soft on Muslims and also ensure a second term, Obama has did the necessary and perhaps well deserved as well. Sorry palestine, I too have had *spiritual* contacts with Muslims, and have been come away feeling immensely polluted and manipulated, even as weather systems express their hatred for the UN and NYC for not taking out the APARTHEID of BUMIPUTERA and leaving those doing important work to end dhimmitude of minorities to suffer years of afflicted quality of life. President Obama after winning that second term, how about a stern action against the Islam inspired APARTHEID of BUMIPUTERA?

Or at least looking the other way while/when ASEAN’s anti-dhimmis clean up the mess here . . .

“When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” Thomas Jefferson

Behind all the arrogance and smugness, Canada’s Stephen Harper is just an insecure petty tyrant. Like any unjust, unconstitutional ruler, he must fight a relentless war against his own country so that he can force it to serve the foreign and corporate interests that put him in power. To do this, he disdains Parliament, violates Canadian law, persecutes critics, tramples on civil rights, and sabotages national institutions.

As expected, Harper is increasingly isolated and loathed at home, so to maintain a power base he must increasingly count on support from a select political circle—of hell, presumably—consisting of corporate kleptocrats, media lackeys, pro-Israel pressure groups, and gormless true believers.

The same is true in foreign affairs. The world sees Harper as crude, ignorant and bumptious, so it’s hard to believe he enjoys any respect among civilized nations. “Civilized” connotes reason, compassion, intellect, and respect for the law, all of which Canada is supposed to stands for, and all of which Harper is determined to stamp out.

Harper, who rose like a methane bubble from the cesspit of right-wing populism, is not a tyrant in the usual sense. He exploits Canada not for his own interests but for the interests of a higher-order tyrant. As Israel’s proconsul in Ottawa, he serves the Zionist Imperial Authority as well as assorted multinational interests.

Back in June, Globe and Mail columnist Jeffrey Simpson gave this sampling of Harper’s tactless bombast in the wake of Canada’s first ever failure to win a seat on the UN Security Council:

“Canada’s once-sterling reputation for caring about Africa is over. Canada’s reputation in the Arab world is mud because although ministers never criticize anything Israel does they never miss a chance to lecture the Palestinians.

“Canada is about to be spurned in its efforts to join the emerging trade bloc, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Canada’s Commonwealth partners are worried the Harper government might wreck the next meeting in Sri Lanka because of its hectoring of that country’s government, a policy that curries Conservatives’ favour with the large Tamil community in Toronto. Canada’s feeble non-climate-change policy is universally panned.”

Undoubtedly, Harper knows that the long-term damage he is deliberately doing to Canada and Canadians will cost him in the next election, but he bulldozes ahead as if it didn’t matter. Even though the next election is three years away, and Canada’s political opposition lacks the brains or the balls to agitate for his impeachment, Harper’s fellatial servility to Israel may well turn out to be his greatest liability.

It’s one thing for a tyrant to boast of political support from foreign governments if he enhances his country and at least gives the illusion that the mass public benefits in some way; it’s quite another to do so for purely selfish reasons at the expense of his own citizens and his country’s reputation. Far from being a source of political power, the obscene, conspicuous support Harper gets from Israel may be his undoing.

Did Iranian embassy staff violate Canadian law? No.
Did Iran violate international law? No.
Does Iran pose a military threat to Canada or any nation? No.
Did Iran do anything to justify such an extreme, hostile response? No.

Here is the official excuse: “[Iran] is the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today.” Harper’s foreign minion John Baird eventually had to admit that Iran hadn’t actually done anything to justify the expulsion, but had, in his words, “the capacity for increasingly bad behaviour.”

Leaving aside the inanity of this excuse and the non-existence of “bad behaviour” in international law, who made Canada the world’s moral arbiter, what did Baird mean? Developing nuclear power? Well, Iran has every right to develop nuclear power. Unlike Israel and the U.S.—both of which have nuclear weapons and have not signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty—Iran has no nuclear weapons and is a signatory. Moreover, the U.S. intelligence community concluded that Iran is not even close to building a nuclear weapon, and this finding is unchanged from earlier this year.

“We believe that there is time and space to continue to pursue a diplomatic path, backed by growing international pressure on the Iranian government, said a National Security Council spokesman: “We continue to assess that Iran is not on the verge of achieving a nuclear weapon.”

This view is supported by Shannon Kile, head of the Nuclear Weapons Project of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: “I still think that we are talking about several years … before Iran could develop a nuclear weapon and certainly before they could have a deliverable nuclear weapon.”

In response, a spokesman from the Iranian Foreign Ministry called Harper’s government “racist” and condemned the decision as “unprofessional, unconventional and unjustifiable.” So, naturally, Israel rushed in to bury Harper with praise. Fellow fascist Benjamin Netanyahu gushed: “I think what you did, severing ties with Iran, was not only an act of statesmanship but an act of moral clarity.” Moreover, The Jerusalem Post praised Harper as “Israel’s strongest advocate in international forums.”

Canada’s ingratiating posture toward Israel was perhaps best expressed by Baird in February: “I think the U.S. is a good friend [to Israel], too. I like to think we are better, a stronger friend.”

Of course, why Canadian government officials should be advocates for Israel, or any country other than Canada, should be debated loudly inside and outside the House of Commons. On the subject of statesmanship…

Face of the Nation

His Master’s Voice—United Nations
The “state” receiving Harper’s “manship” conspicuously does not refer to his own. For the second year in a row, Harper refused to attend the opening session of the General Assembly. This year, as well as demeaning the UN for its habit of condemning Israeli atrocities, he chose to go to New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel to receive yet another shot of foreign political steroids.

The Orwellian-sounding Appeal of Conscience Foundation chose to honour His Harperness as—get this—World Statesman of the Year. Though the ACF professes to serve the causes of religious freedom, human rights and tolerance throughout the world, any organization founded by a zionist rabbi (Arthur Schneier) and that includes unindicted war criminal Henry Kissinger as a member cannot be taken at face value. Like many zionist organizations, its positive sounding name has purely propaganda value. Kissinger, himself, even presented Harper with the award.

It is impossible to make sense of Harper’s speech, because it was not delivered in English for Canadians, but in Hasbarish, the private language of zionists. In Hasbarish, words have no independent value or any connection to logic or facts, and as such cannot cannot be used to formulate truth claims about anything. Hasbarish is a Humpty-Dumpty argot in which words mean whatever a zionist wants them to mean, and about which no debate is tolerated. In short, Hasbarish is an quasi-religious “anti-language” designed to impose irrational belief, not engender rational thought. Hasbara is based on claims of fallacy. It is the language of liars.

Here are two brief excerpts from Harper’s acceptance speech in which you can see how Harper’s Hasbarish depicts unreality.

“We Canadians are very conscious of our own sovereignty and we expect our governments to make pragmatic decisions in Canada’s national interest.”
(Based on this claim, Harper should be impeached. Here we see how empty, generic assertions can be abused for rhetorical purposes.)

“I speak not merely of [Iran’s] appalling record of human rights abuse or its active assistance to the brutal regime in Syria or its undeniable support of terrorist entities or its determined pursuit of nuclear weapons.”
(Hasbarish does not allow “appalling,” “brutal” and “terrorist” to apply to Israel or the U.S., so the sentence is little more than an insult. Note also the disconnect between Hasbarish and reality in the tendentious reassertion of Iran’s determined pursuing nuclear weapons, which is untrue.)

The chasm between Canadian reality and Harper’s Hasbarish has reached such cartoonish proportions that Israel is now an electoral liability for him. The fact of fascism in North America has become so overt that even the Globe and Mail, usually a loyal source of pro-Israel/pro-Harper tripe, can no longer stay silent. On Oct. 30, it ran a story headlined “Michael Ignatieff’s Timely Warning on the Politics of Fascism.” Though addressed to a U.S, audience about U.S. politics, the article’s right-wing columnist John Ibbitson even had to acknowledge that former Liberal leader Ignatieff’s warnings about fascism’s hastening the decline of the English-speaking world were wise and also applicable to Canada.

We should all hope that Canada stills exists in some recognizable form by the next election so we can all dance on Harper’s grave.

The white box approximately covers Canadian Native ‘First Nations’ which were colonized with violence and still under control of the Anglo-European continental invaders, Native ‘Canada’ is in fact a series of territories belonging to Red Skinned Races, NOT ‘White’ Caucasian Races. Will the UN, NAM or BRICS allow them their sovereignty in various world bodies?

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DEMOCRATIC TOTALITARIANISM? No, but Canada in using Hasbarish looks theocratic and coloniser in intent and in potential rather than secularist and human rights protective instead. With the writer is possibly an Islamist apologist – there is no need to choose EITHER Islam or Zioism because Canada always has been and always will belong to – the Race of Red Men, the Native Tribes of what is called Canada. It is unconscionable that any group of foreigners with advanced military weapons lands on shores takes control of land and butchers the local population, Canada belonged to a score or more of hunter-nomad-agrarian tribes that were not expecting such an invasion and were taken over in the 1400s or more as colonialists.

The caucasians who enslaved natives, took over native lands (from which ancestral lands and old boundaries still known to Elders who know what that tribe owned as SOVEREIGN territory and can be reclaimed by), and established illegal colonies on land that did not belong to caucasians, or displaced local Native-Ameri-Indian peoples, discriminated against their shamanic ‘Pagan Ways’, and formed so-called governments from obviously illegally occupied territories, are war criminals with family lines that can be traced. Those caucasians who killed or violently occupied should be repatriated after their wealth is stripped. Those caucasians who tried to get along with the natives should be allowed to remain.

The caucasians who do not have any level of extreme wealth should be allowed to remain citizens of the nation for humanitarian reasons (moving is costly and some of the whites might consider that place home – if not excessive in size, they should be allowed to stay), the caucasians of wealth based on ownership of mineral or plantation or oil wealth simply because their past generations were part of the organized criminal colonisers that the UN could never consider bonafide owners (might does not make right, that is the basis of civilisation) must relinquish the major part of holdings to a fair degree to the original inhabitants and new Native owners (preferably in equal share) to have a right to remain IF their families had not indulged in stealing land backed by force.

Harper is French (i.e. Frankish) who’s faith was Frankish Paganism, not Zionism. Speaking in French was bad enough, but Hasbarish? This is ridiculous. The Native ‘Canadian’ Indians are the true owners of ‘Canada’, Canada was stolen about 600 years ago, their presence is illegal, and the UN needs to address their rights, ensure their culture and faith, as well as expel all who occupied illegally or proselytized offensively. If UN will not act to liberate, there is always NAM (though somewhat skewed towards Dhimmifying Muslims (see Malaysia’s Apartheid of Bumiputra or honour killings and beheadings elsewhere) which represents 55% of the world’s population, or BRICs, which represents 25% of the world’s landmass and 40% of the worlds population. Justice please for the oppressed Red Races!

The JGSDF’s anti-tank missiles can attack tanks, armored fighting vehicles and even small warships.

The JSGDF also has advanced pressing artillery. The M270 multiple rocket launchers outperform U.S. similar weapons in strike range, accuracy and power.

Japan’s military power cannot be underestimated

Du believes Japan’s military power cannot be underestimated. Almost all heavy equipment production lines are potentially dual-use. For example, Japanese car production lines can be easily converted to manufacturing fighting vehicles. No other countries in the world possess such huge war potential.

Japan is one of the world’s largest manufacturing economies. As the Japanese government gradually relaxes the Three Principles on Arms Exports, the arms export is likely to play an important role in improving the country’s economy in the future.

The issue of Japanese neurotech satellites trained en masse on critical troop or equipment positions will be the main worry of the Chinese.

Microwave guns that ignore armour to cook soldiers as well as subsonic sounds which might affect organs or nerves even the brain as well, could make ‘Hardened’ EMP immune electronics as well as sonic deadening suits necessary for infantry combat, if considered by China.

Finally there will be the issue of Chinese citizens’ CELLPHONES turning against them. A single broadcast at magnified levels could paralyse sensitive pathways of the human physiology. No troops should have any cellphones about themselves while at war- in fact civilians could be subject to low level bombardments as of now at subaural levels or other frequencies. Finally the issue of a second edible or breathable poison that works when the target has eaten an earlier substance something earlier on. This is extremely serious if applied because the Chinese have indeed been eating so much of Japanese products over the years that femto-scale poisons or who knows nanomites could already be about in China controlled by the Japanese or will be dumped in China. And while Japan could ultimately be defeated by sheer numbers of survivors, MANY of the urban or top level Chinese closest to or having associated with the Japanese could die in the process. Electronic warfare needs no soldiers and war machines and could be beamed from afar or from space. That could be the Japanese mode *IF* Japan’s treatment of Fukushima with a trolley-bot rather than a Robo-Mecha is just feigning a lack of technology.

Finally the hardware/mecha issue while impressive must first see China be able to counter the above issues, sound and radio wave attacks first. Only then will the hardware issue come into play or need to be applied. The next war could be won from afar with mind control satellites or chemical poisoning of a subtler sort.

ARTICLE 4

12 Year Old Sent to Detention For Hugging a Classmate – Posted on November 1, 2012 by Soren Dreier

In 2010 the parents from a Gold Coast primary school labelled a move to issue detentions for hugging on school grounds as “political correctness gone mad”.

Ms Rome says some parents at Amber’s school had complained about boyfriend/girlfriend hugging and excessive contact, prompting the rule to be introduced.

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Theory on Aura and Touching

Until the aura is ‘matured’, the no touching rule should apply. This means even between children. ‘Group sleep sessions’ ALSO affect childrens’ aura and cause ‘hive minds’ so no sleeping in groups is also important for parents who want children to grow up as strong individuals. The final result is the identification of orgy participants who end up with a hive mind ‘organ’ much like sheep, while the non-hivers become alpha predators or gamma outsiders. This effect can be felt when re-assimilating after migration where one chooses to join a hive or keep separate from the hive. Spiritual gang rapes can also occur so identify those cities or societies that do this (typically religious ones) and stuck to capital cities with large influxes of foreigners to avoid being affected by hive mind groups.

Handstands, cartwheels, somersaults are also dangerous to the immatured aura as in that the later action of the astral body when asleep can and does cause accidents via induction of vertigo or sudden fainting spells in like minded persons most similar to the child in nature. Individualism is very important for autonomy, to remain separate unless one is a parasite, and the ‘hivers’, especially drug taking ‘hivers’ that participate in spiritual rape’, are particularly ‘verminous’ forms of humanity and that is also why the uniformity imposing religious, military or police as professions are considered ‘iron natured’ or lowly to some spiritually aware asian societies with societies imposing forced military conscriptions or enforcing a certain religion among citizens/on their citizens are spiritually criminal nations that make up the bulk of the 3rd world as in theocratic Buddhism or Islamism enforced by violence or threat of punishment or under threat of dhimmification or dhimmification of those not of their faith sunconsciously or consciously or by technicality.

Hence touching unless sanctioned by an individual based around sovereign laws should be disallowed, and the first thing a person learns in school, even by police or even by one’s family members. This rule should make rape and paedophilia difficult and foster relations completely at the individual’s preference. Feel free to debunk or argue if theory needs refining.

ARTICLE 5

French brewers hit by 160% rise in beer tax

President Hollande to push through legislation to fund social programmes – but brewers condemn plan as ‘kick in teeth’ – Associated Press in Brussels – The Guardian, Tuesday 30 October 2012 20.42 GMT

Men drinking beer
French brewers will be hit by 160% rise in beer tax. The move follows a 6% fall in beer production in the EU since 2008. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

The French president, François Hollande, is pushing through legislation to increase taxes on beer by 160% to help fund social programmes, as France struggles to contain a budget deficit hit hard by the economic crisis.

The tax increase will affect local brews and the 30% of imported beer the French drink. The change will push up the price of a beer by about 20% in bars and supermarkets, said Jacqueline Lariven, spokeswoman for the French brewer’s federation, Brasseurs de France.

The Brewers of Europe trade group described the measure as a “kick in the teeth”, as it follows a 6% fall in beer production and an 8% drop in consumption in the EU since the region’s debt crisis began in 2008.

Outside France, Belgium and Germany were likely to be hardest hit by the new legislation, said Pierre-Olivier Bergeron, head of the Brewers of Europe.

“This measure will affect all brewers, including small entrepreneurs,” he said. “This is a very shortsighted approach by penalising one sector.”

President Hollande said he hoped to raise €480m (£300m) from the tax increase on beer to boost medical insurance and elderly care.

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Exempt small entrepreneurs not worth more than 3 million in total value. Those from 3 million to 5 million in value will be required to pay 20% rises, those from 5 million to 10 million in value will be required to pay 40% rises, those from 10 million to 20 million in value will be required to pay 80% rises, those from 20 million and above in value will be required to pay the full 160% rises.

The way the additionals funds are to fund social programmes will be WRITTEN BY the French Government (representative’s, though not people’s will until one day where 1 man 1 vote form bill writing is ratified by quorum), and the social programmes where funds are added are SELECTED ONLY BY the “The Brewers of Europe trade group alcohol brewers” (best practices, they paid so they get to choose) and must be entirely transparent to the public (no middlemen collusion and profiteering as in the PrisonBuildingContractor-PrisonSupplierCrony Complex of the West, ReligiousProduct-ReligiousTourism SupplierCrony Complex of the Middle East (think Haj and monopolies on pilgrim management companies . . . won’t go any further on this . . . ), or Education-Financiar-Student-Debt BankerCrony Complex of the Far East. Remember secularists, worship of EDUCATION to the point of sacrificing financial well being is no less fundamentalist than a terrorist who will blow up others. In the student debt case, the parents end up putting the financial viability of the family at risk.

ARTICLE 6

Fight the New World Order with Global Non-Compliance Thursday, November 1st, 2012.

Understand your enemy, and understand the weapons they use. Then use those same weapons against them. The money system is the head of the snake. Cut the head off the snake and the rest of it will whither and die. There need be No violence, no guns, no banners, no slogans, no group think, just a united act of global non compliance.

Remember that it is much easier to fight for principles than to live up to them and it takes a far braver man to stand up for what is right and spit in the face of authority than it does to blindly follow orders due to fear of the consequences. Understand that we are all one and the key to real change and unity in this world lies with love.

It is time for the people of the world to stop and realise that the divisions that supposedly exist amongst us are an illusion. There IS NO division and its time for everyone to understand the truth of this.

It is through the constantly promoted illusion of division that the system is able to function but in order for it to do so, it needs public compliance.

Stop complying with it and you will shut it down.

It’s time for us all to collectively stand together and address the root cause of the problems.

Everyone.

max igan

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Disinfo. The money system is only the DECOY that can easily be removed with a Senate and Parliament that both rectify the removal of the money system (i.e. fiat wealth). The real head of the snake is the Voting Basis Paradigm. Never vote for the GLC linked, Plutocrat or Nepotist or Term Limitless or fundo/police/military/banking system/prison complex linked). If everyone votes for Joe Publics not affiliated with the above groups, the NWO is finished. this is the best legal form of Global Non-Compliance.

Keep it illegal! Once legalized, the quality will drop like a stone… no pun intended.
@runman

Who cares the gov does heaps of crap that is illeagle dosnt stop them so how do they think they can stop me smoking pot. They cant and wont f em they stand for nobody and nothing. I am a free man not one of there slaves i have my own mind and free will. I dont need some idiot telling me what i can and cant do f em all
@JS

The feds have no jurisdiction outside dc and their territories, fact
Italics Mine

So, what happens if the voters vote to raise taxes? Or build a new school? Or prohibit smoking in town? These measures will become law. (Minority of One Laws must protect their rights)
@Edward B

The bottom line is that the War on Some Drugs is an excuse for the govt not only to invade your home and point a gun at you – but also to invade other countries and point guns at them. Thats the real prize. If the US wants to steal resources from a country – they invoke the War on Drugs. If the war on Marijuana is over – there is really not much left as only about 1 out of 200 drug users uses hard drugs. The US govt needs the war on Pot to committ terrible atrocities at home and all ove the world. All in the name of protecting you from a harmless vegetable that has never caused an overdose.
@SM

There are already cases in other areas where a local sheriff has sent Fed’s packing so it’s really a matter of will….nothing less. Put your local sheriff on the “hot seat”. Explain to him/her just how fast a recall election can happen if he/she “forgets” who they are to serve.
@alex smart 15 hours ago

Marijuana is a danger to the building, textile,energy and pharmaceutical industries. Who do you think your politicians are protecting. Not the people but the corporate entities who paid for tjheir campaigns. Your owned, so just shut up and accept your slavery.
@terrible1again

There is a simple solution to this issue. If the people of any of these states pass this law, all they have to do is pass another law that says any attempet by ANY law enforcement agent to arrest someone for excersizing this right will result in their arrest and a mandatory sentence of 10 years in state prison. This means the Feds arrest someone, that agent goes to prison. It’s the only way to enforce “states rights” as well as the “will of the people”. No federal agent will risk 10 years in a state prison to enforce a law the people of that stat don’t agree with. Simple enough.
@Capt. Kirk

Enslaving people over a plant… It.’s a sick joke.

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Xian inspired fundo alert anyone? Xians want to have a monopoly on psychedelics via their Eucharist or Wafer Flesh ceremonies IMHO. They won’t allow secularised ‘mysteries’ via plants given to EVERYONE by ‘god’, but would make the Church a profiteering ‘Toll’ keeper preventing others from accessing what ‘god’ had granted all men by victimless crime criminalisation laws. No group of men have a right to deny access to any other group of men to the bounty of this world. Think Amsterdam’s ‘Green Zones’ and apply.

Seattle Police Will No Longer Arrest Anyone For Marijuana Starting Tonight! (Perhaps 5 ounces for home or those relocating? Thats about the size of a large snack bag btw, if the government wants to be reasonable, might as well be reasonable all the way . . . anything beyond a small sized carton – 10 bags worth – though could be let off with a warning then a fine the next time or jail on a 3rd or more offense .)

ARTICLE 8

Superstorm Sandy: US East Coast fights back
At least 48 dead across the US East Coast after Superstorm Sandy, as President Barack Obama set to visit New Jersey and businesses and services attempt to re-open.
New York taxis are stranded on a flooded street in Queens Photo: Xinhua /Landov / Barcroft Media

by Raf Sanchez, Washington, Jessica Winch in London, Mark Hughes in New York, James Orr in New Jersey and Amy Willis, in Los Angeles – 11:08AM GMT 31 Oct 2012

Pope Benedict XVI gives his weekly general audience at St Peter’s square at the Vatican

11.19 Pope Benedict XVI says he is praying for the victims of Hurricane Sandy and expresses his solidarity to those working to clean up the damage.

The pope spoke to pilgrims as rain and wind pounded St Peter’s Square during his weekly public audience Wednesday.

He said he was “conscious of the devastation” to the east coast of the United States and that he offered “my prayers for the victims and I express my solidarity with all those engaged in the work of rebuilding.”

10.13 Battered by a record storm surge of nearly 14 feet of water, swaths of New York City and New Jersey remained submerged under several feet of water on Wednesday morning. In the borough of Staten Island, police used helicopters to pluck stranded residents from rooftops.

Across the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey, members of the National Guard arrived to help residents pump floodwater from their homes, the city said on Twitter.

More than 8.2 million homes and businesses remained without electricity across several states as trees toppled by fierce winds tore down power lines.

A flooded section of Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island, New Jersey

09.51 While New York City buses returned to darkened streets eerily free of traffic and the New York Stock Exchange was set to reopen its trading floor on Wednesday, it became clear that restoring the region to its ordinarily frenetic pace could take days – and that rebuilding the hardest-hit communities and the transportation networks that link them together could take considerably longer. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said:

Opinion We will get through the days ahead by doing what we always do in tough times – by standing together, shoulder to shoulder, ready to help a neighbor, comfort a stranger and get the city we love back on its feet.

Floodwaters from superstorm Sandy surround homes in South Bethany, Delaware

06.52 An Australian woman has described giving birth by torchlight as the superstorm hit New York. Sally Bertouch, 31, was staying with her husband James at a hotel close to NY Langone hospital when she went into labour just before the storm struck. Once at the hospital they described how lights were flickering before the power cut out completely. Eventually they were evacuated to Mount Sinai hospital where Sally gave birth to a baby girl named Sophie Deborah Here is an extract from the interview on news.com.au:

Opinion Unfortunately, the hospital was in the evacuation zone and it was being slammed by the storm.

“As we paced the corridors the lights started flickering, then the power went out completely at 8.15pm.”

After 16 hours of labour in the middle of a superstorm, they were plunged into darkness.

“There were no monitors, no foetal monitors, all the doctors had glow sticks around their necks. I had a flashlight. Sal was lying in the bed in the dark and the wind,” Mr Bertouch said.

The doctors were forced to do an epidural by torchlight. They used stethoscopes to monitor the baby and Sally.

“It was pretty scary, crazy, apocalyptic weather outside but I felt confident because the doctors and nurses were so confident and in control. They did an amazing job.”

05.40 The National Guard has arrived in Hoboken, a town of around 50,000 in New Jersey, according to AP. The Guard will be using high-wheeled trucks to transport residents out of the most hard-hit areas as well as ferrying in supplies, AP said.

04.23 Volunteers from all over America have been offering their services to those struggling in the wake of the storm. NYC Service, a government initiative, has been deluged with people offering hands for the clean-up operation, medical evaluations over Skype and grief councelling. The NYC Service page on Facebook already has more than 10,000 followers. The organisation has asked anyone who wants to help to email nycservice@cityhall.nyc.gov

04.20 GMT (12.20am ET) Good morning and welcome to our live updates as the US east coast counts the cost of the devastating Superstorm Sandy.

NEW YORK – The UN Security Council will meet later on Wednesday to discuss Somalia and other issues, but it has been forced to relocate because of water damage to parts of the United Nations complex from the storm Sandy, diplomats said.

It was not immediately clear how badly the UN buildings were damaged by the storm. Diplomats said flooding in basement areas was severe enough to require the 15-nation council to move to a temporary container-like structure built to house parts of the UN secretariat and conference rooms during a years-long renovation of the main buildings due to finish in 2013.

Reporters accredited to the United Nations have so far not been allowed back into the world body’s headquarters by the East River in midtown Manhattan. It has been shut since Monday before Sandy crashed ashore the same day, the largest storm to hit the United States in generations.

OMG there are such things as Snighs after all! Hell yeah! Go nature! The congressman said kicked off, not flooded off. Earthquake anyone? That would give some ‘kick’. Well BRICS? Go ahead with the mobile version on an aircraft carrier to prepare for when the UN based in NY no longer exists!

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia (RIA Novosti/Ramil Sitdikov)

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill has urged priests to stop startling the public and making inappropriate jokes, but rather focus on doing good deeds.

“We sometimes witness priests who make shocking statements, excuse me, without rhyme or reason,” Kirill observed. That can either be a result of “emotional inertia” – when a person gets involved in something and simply cannot stop – or a lack of responsibility, he pointed out.

The clerics’ words are often quoted and interpreted one way or another and, also, used to bash the Church, the patriarch underlined speaking at a festival of Orthodox media “Faith and Word” on Wednesday.

The Orthodox Church repeatedly accused the media of launching an information war against it, while the press criticizes the top clergy for their alleged merger with the state, and the luxurious lifestyles and posh cars of some.

The infamous Pussy Riot trial triggered a fresh wave of accusations, with the punk band’s supporters insisting that the best demonstration of Christianity would be to release the women instead of sending them to jail. Controversial statements by some clerics only add fuel to the fire.

Speaking on Wednesday, the head of the Church reminded priests that their duty is to visit hospitals and asylums as well as to help drug-addicts, alcoholics, youngsters and those who are still in search of their faith.

“Such work brings less publicity,” he noted, adding that striving for popularity is sinful.

Patriarch Kirill pointed out that “shocking the public isn’t our mission, let others do that,” Interfax agency quoted. He urged “Orthodox communicators” to watch their words.

“Sick jokes” by some clerics rock the internet, while important statements by the Church go unnoticed as users are too busy discussing the jest, the patriarch lamented.

Archdeacon Andrey Kurayev is one of the top Orthodox stars on the Russian internet, famous for his controversial statements. His comment on the Pussy Riot performance – as they put it, the “punk-prayer” – in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral became a hit among bloggers and outraged many Orthodox believers.

“If I were a sacristan in this cathedral, I’d feed [the girls] with pancakes and give each a chalice with mead,” he wrote in his blog. “And if I were a head layman, I’d also pinch them a bit in a fatherly way to bring them to reason.”

He added that what they did was certainly a disgrace, but an acceptable one, since it was performed during Pancake Week (also known as Maslenitsa) – a traditional time for “buffoonery”. The Eastern Slavic holiday is celebrated in the last week before Lent and marks the coming end of winter.

Witty or not, it was intended as a joke. However, sometimes Church officials make rather serious statements reflecting their personal political stance.

Earlier this week, Priest Sergey Rybko – known for his radical statements – called the participants of Russian anti-government protests “public enemies.”

“The opposition’s activity simply weakens the state and we can lose everything as a result of that. I see no alternative to [President Vladimir] Putin who can hold power in the country,” he told RIA Novosti.

Russian Church officials stressed later that Rybko was voicing his personal stance, adding that “as a Russian citizen” he has a right to do so.

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Suggestions for punishment of priests by state. Out of robes and out of the church is acceptable for sure due to free speech. Semi wrong if either in robe but outside in casual AND inside church but out of robe – amounting to a warning, suspension if 2nd offense, extended suspension with fine on 3rd, excommunication on 4th but no jail, this is about appropriateness not enriching the PrisonBuildingContractor-SupplierCrony Complex. If both in Church and in robe while making statements, then inappropriate and actionable and considered a double offense. Suspension if 1st offense, excommunication on 2nd but no jail. Enrich the PrisonBuildingContractor-Supplier complex at the Russian’s Church’s expense? Sick. How about freeing Pussy Riot type cases? The state has no time for punk girls in prison. Real prisoners are terrorists or spies!

ARTICLE 11

Buddhist monk is the world’s happiest man – Monday Oct 29, 2012

Tibetan monk and molecular geneticist Matthieu Ricard is the happiest man in the world according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin. The 66-year-old’s brain produces a level of gamma waves – those linked to consciousness, attention, learning and memory – never before reported in neuroscience.

As he grins serenely and his burgundy robes billow in the fresh Himalayan wind, it is not difficult to see why scientists declared Matthieu Ricard the happiest man they had ever tested.

The monk, molecular geneticist and confidant of the Dalai Lama, is passionately setting out why meditation can alter the brain and improve people’s happiness in the same way that lifting weights puts on muscle.

“It’s a wonderful area of research because it shows that meditation is not just blissing out under a mango tree but it completely changes your brain and therefore changes what you are,” the Frenchman told AFP.

Ricard, a globe-trotting polymath who left everything behind to become a Tibetan Buddhist in a Himalayan hermitage, says anyone can be happy if they only train their brain.

Neuroscientist Richard Davidson wired up Ricard’s skull with 256 sensors at the University of Wisconsin four years ago as part of research on hundreds of advanced practitioners of meditation.

The scans showed that when meditating on compassion, Ricard’s brain produces a level of gamma waves — those linked to consciousness, attention, learning and memory — “never reported before in the neuroscience literature”, Davidson said.

The scans also showed excessive activity in his brain’s left prefrontal cortex compared to its right counterpart, giving him an abnormally large capacity for happiness and a reduced propensity towards negativity, researchers believe.

Research into the phenomenon, known as “neuroplasticity,” is in its infancy and Ricard has been at the forefront of ground-breaking experiments along with other leading scientists across the world.

“We have been looking for 12 years at the effect of short and long-term mind-training through meditation on attention, on compassion, on emotional balance,” he said.

“We’ve found remarkable results with long-term practitioners who did 50,000 rounds of meditation, but also with three weeks of 20 minutes a day, which of course is more applicable to our modern times.”

The 66-year-old, accompanying other senior Tibetan monks at a festival in the remote Nepalese Himalayan region of Upper Dolpa, has become a globally respected Buddhist and is one of the religion’s leading western scholars.

But he has not always been on the path to enlightenment.

Ricard grew up among the Paris intellectual elite as the son of celebrated French libertarian philosopher Jean-Francois Revel and abstract watercolor painter Yahne Le Toumelin.

“All these people used to come around, most of Paris intellectual life. We had all the French painters and I was myself interested in classical music so I met a lot of musicians,” he said.

“At lunch we’d have three Nobel Prize winners eating with us. It was fantastic… Some of them were wonderful but some could be difficult.”

By the time he got his PhD in cell genetics from the Institut Pasteur in Paris in 1972 he had become disillusioned with the dinner party debates and had already begun to journey to Darjeeling in India during his holidays.

Eschewing intimate relationships and a career, he moved to India to study Buddhism and emerged 26 years later as something of celebrity thanks to “The Monk And The Philosopher,” a dialogue on the meaning of life he wrote with his father.

“That was the end of my quiet time because it was a bestseller. Suddenly I was projected into the western world. Then I did more dialogues with scientists and the whole thing started to spin off out of control.

“I got really involved in science research and the science of meditation.”

A prominent monk in Kathmandu’s Shechen Monastery, Ricard divides his year between isolated meditation, scientific research and accompanying the Dalai Lama as his adviser on trips to French-speaking countries and science conferences.

He addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos at the height of the financial crisis in 2009 to tell gathered heads of state and business leaders it was time to give up greed in favor of “enlightened altruism.”

His other works include “Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill” and several collections of photographs of the landscape, people and spiritual masters of the Himalayas.

Ricard donates all proceeds of his books to 110 humanitarian projects which have built schools for 21,000 children and provide healthcare for 100,000 patients a year.

He was awarded the French National Order of Merit for his work in preserving Himalayan culture but it is his work on the science of happiness which perhaps defines him best.

Ricard sees living a good life, and showing compassion, not as a religious edict revealed from on high, but as a practical route to happiness.

“Try sincerely to check, to investigate,” he said. “That’s what Buddhism has been trying to unravel — the mechanism of happiness and suffering. It is a science of the mind.”

Copyright (2012) AFP. All rights reserved.

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Theory. Neuroplasticity is an NLP word to trick the body into accepting plastic particles or chemicals into the brain. This article about happiness is in fact a NLP form of prozac that is intended to create a weaker willed and stupidly smiling sheep class that does not retaliate but hides within contrived happiness supported by articles such as these. Anger is progress. Hatred is defense. Retaliation is what the tyrannical and complacently stupid need. I’d prefer the non-theocrat hipster smoking something ‘god’ gave free and relaxing in a non-capitalist area of the world, than an old ‘bear’ (Ctholic-priest?) type or their sick minded fundo inspired families rife with child abuse behind veneers of respectability. Refutes?

Apple’s Siri, a popular voice-activated personal assistant app for iPhones, is now accused in China of being “too smart” as it may help users find illegal venues offering prostitution, Chinese media reported.

According to Xinhua news agency, some iPhone users with Apple’s latest IOS 6 operating system and Chinese-language Siri said when they asked the assistant app “Where to find prostitutes,” Siri showed 15 places with detailed locations.

While many netizens were shocked by the app’s powerful search feature, some suggested it could help police crack down on houses of prostitution.

A reporter with Xinhua tried using Siri to search for prostitutes in Baoshan District in Shanghai and the app provided 12 locations in the search result, mostly entertainment venues.

The reporter picked one on Shuangcheng Road and went there in the middle of the night to see young women wearing sexy clothes at the venue’s entrance.

A staff worker told the reporter that the venue offers prostitutes in KTV or karaoke rooms, while customers may pay additional fees to take prostitutes out of the venue.

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This helps give sex workers autonomy and independence while keeping businesses going through recommendations to tourists who will also add a sense of interest via international flavour to the regular goers who might otherwise never see foreign patrons. For sex workers, the benefit is, instead of being tied to certain ‘bar fine’ systems or effectively locked in to avoid wandering aimlessly searching for clients outside, they could even eventually become outcall and have a choice of going independent and perhaps for those not really into the trade even move on to other work or even get married. The more options the better, the more they move around the better. Also China needs formal Red Light District zoning so that the issues and monitoring of the adult industry will be easier.

ARTICLE 13

Noted: Network of Tubes. Literally. – Tue, Mar 31, 09

Old Technology better than Crony Job System

Ted Stevens was right, the Victorian Internet consisted, quite literally, of a ‘Network of Tubes’. Paris, London, Prague and Vienna had extensive networks of pneumatic tubes which delivered messages in capsules. In New York 5 million mail messages passed every day through an underground pneumatic system, and a network in Berlin delivered hot meals directly to people’s homes suggesting that kitchens would no longer be needed in the future. Today these systems can still be purchased where they are used in places like hospitals where samples are passed between departments.

USS Midway aircraft carrier pneumatic message system

New York Public Library Messaging System

Lamson pneumatic tube system

Main Control Panel for the Prague Pneumatic Post

If you have ever used one of these, as I have at an educational institution many years ago, you’ll never forget the immensely satisfying pneumatic plump sound when your payload is sucked up the tubes.

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They should have replaced the Postage department of all countries with the direct to the individual letterbox “Pneumatic Post Delivery Tube” instead of paying all those salaries for decades to the occasional unreliable ‘disgruntled postal worker’, and potential sabotage by any Orwellian bribed postmen by now. Add cams to the tube-containers as well as GPS, and mail will never be sabotaged again. This is the solid form of email that cannot be sabotaged.

And they also are officializing their rejection of US capitalist hegemony… for the End of the Mayan Calendar!

In a symbolic rejection of US capitalism, Bolivia announced it will expel the Coca-Cola Company from the country at the end of the Mayan calendar. This will mark the end of capitalism and usher in a new era of equality, the Bolivian govt says. “December 21 of 2012 will be the end of egoism and division. December 21 should be the end of Coca-Cola,” Bolivian foreign minister David Choquehuanca decreed, with bombast worthy of a viral marketing campaign. The coming ‘end’ of the Mayan lunar calendar on December 21 of this year has sparked widespread doomsaying of an impending apocalypse. But Choquehuanca argued differently, claiming it will be the end of days for capitalism, not the planet. “The planets will align for the first time in 26,000 years and this is the end of capitalism and the beginning of communitarianism,” said Choquehuanca as quoted by Venezuelan newspaper El Periodiquito. The minister encouraged the people of Bolivia to drink Mocochinche, a peach-flavored soft drink, as an alternative to Coca-Cola. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez followed suit, encouraging his country to ditch the American beverage for fruit juice produced in Venezuela. ­

McFailure

Last year, Bolivia became the second Latin American country not to have a single McDonald’s. The fast food giant finally gave up on Bolivia after being unable to turn a profit in the country for over a decade. Following this failure, the monolithic multinational released a documentary titled ‘Why McDonald’s failed in Bolivia.’ Referencing surveys, sociologists, nutritionists and historians, the company came to the conclusion it was not their food that was the issue, but a culturally driven boycott.

Bolivian President Evo Morales has a reputation for controversial policies similar to the Coca-Cola ban. Morales pledged last month to legalize the consumption of coca leaves, one of the main ingredients of cocaine. “Neither the US nor capitalist countries have a good reason to maintain the ban on coca leaf consumption,” said Morales.

The coca leaf was declared an illegal narcotic by the UN in 1961, along with cocaine, opium and morphine. The consumption of coca leaves is a centuries-old tradition in Bolivia, strongly rooted in the beliefs of various indigenous groups. Now this is some fun yet strange news coming from an evolving Latin America. Applying 2012 predictions to State politics?

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Perhaps if McDonalds and Coca-Cola sourced and manufactured the food locally and LOWERED FRANCHISE FEES and shared premises with other franchises, Bolivia would accept McDonalds and Coca-Cola. Better a conglomeration based presence than none at all. Closed entirely? Change practices and keep open.

‘I was a boy.. then a girl.. now I want to be a boy again’: Agony of of teen who is Britain’s youngest sex-swap patient – by Mirror.co.uk – 28 Oct 2012 00:00

Ria Cooper has spent the last year having hormone injections to turn her from a boy into a girl
Ria has failed to find happiness following her sex-swap treatment Ria has failed to find happiness following her sex-swap treatment
Sunday Mirror

Teenager Ria Cooper has spent the last year having hormone injections to turn her from a boy into a girl.

Formerly named Brad, she has ­already developed breasts, dresses in glamorous outfits, wears her hair in a feminine bob and has dated several young men.

At 18, she is Britain’s youngest sex-swap patient.

Yet despite thousands of pounds worth of NHS treatment, as well as psychiatric and doctors’ assessments, Ria has now decided she wants to go back to being a BOY.

Her decision, which comes after two suicide attempts, calls into ­question whether she was too young to be allowed to swap sexes in the first place.

“Life has really got on top of me recently,” she says. “The hormones have made me feel up and down. One minute I feel moody and the next minute I feel really happy.

“A couple of months ago I’d had enough and took a lot of paracetamol but my friend found me and made me sick. Just before that, I’d tried to slash my wrists and ended up in hospital. I get these dark moods when ­nothing seems right.

“The night I tried to slash my wrists I’d downed a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and just thought about how alone I am, how my decision has alienated my family and how I will have to become a boy again to resolve it.

“I don’t want to live in isolation, away from everyone I love. This is the only way forward. I just want to be happy and this is my last chance.”

Ria Cooper As a teenager, Ria begged doctors to turn her into a girl – ITV/Sunday Mirror Grab

Ria, of Hull, East Yorks, has been dressing as a girl since she was 12. As Brad, she would wear clothes ­belonging to her three older sisters and borrow her mum’s ­lipstick.

At school she was taunted for being gay and was eventually excluded for getting into fights.

Aged 15, she begged doctors to turn her into a woman, believing it would change her life for the better.

She was referred to a psychologist at Hull Royal Infirmary and later to the Gender Identity Clinic in London, where specialists agreed she was a woman trapped in a man’s body.

Aged 17, Ria started hormone ­injections, making her the youngest ever patient in the UK to receive such treatment. But the controversial ­decision has devastated her life.

She has fallen out with family, got into dangerous situations with men and even worked as a prostitute.

Female hormone injections have seen her develop tiny breast buds and she no longer has to shave every day. She is booked in for the full ­transgender op in January but now says she will no longer go ahead with it.

Ria Cooper as a boy (Bradley Cooper) Born a boy and called Brad, he was always dressing as a girl

“It will be strange because the last time I dressed properly as a boy I was about 10 years old,” she says.

“I’m still conscious of the way I look and I want to look like a trendy gay man rather than a girl-boy.”

Ria’s last hormone injections were three months ago when she told her doctor she will not be having any more. The breasts she has developed should slowly disappear.

She says: “I just can’t be what I want to be. My mum Elaine loves and ­supports me as much as she can, yet she doesn’t allow me to live at home any more. My dad barely speaks to me and says I’m an embarrassment. I think as the only boy in the ­family he thought I’d follow him into the steel business and pictured us working out together at the gym.

“Obviously it’s not turned out like that. I don’t know who I can trust as friends. I feel really, really alone.”

Critics warned two years ago that Ria’s tender years meant she was too young to make the decision to become a woman.

Last night child psychologist Karen Sherr, formerly of Great Ormond Street Hospital, said: “It’s absolutely ­ludicrous for young kids to make such huge, life-changing decisions… and for doctors and their parents to support it.

“At that age you haven’t developed fully, neither physically nor ­emotionally. You’re still exploring your ­sexuality and you don’t know how you might end up.

“Children need to be allowed to grow into adults before they go through with something like a sex change because, as this case shows, at that age you don’t know yourself well enough.”

But Ria insists: “I don’t regret my original decision. I’ve always known I wanted to be female since I was a little girl but it’s all led to so much trouble.”

Choking back tears, Ria reveals how hormone ­treatment has left her ­feeling ­emotionally unstable, highlighting the two suicide attempts she has made in the last three months.

At 5ft 10ins with a head of glossy raven hair, Ria attracts a lot of male ­attention, but her fragile mental condition has led to low self-­esteem.

“The hormones have given me ­emotions I find it hard to cope with, teamed with a high sex drive,” she says. “Over the last year everything has been about sex and boys and wanting to be loved.

“I’ve had a couple of boyfriends who’ve known what I am, but straight men just see me as some sort of lady boy, a freaky challenge to notch up on their bedpost.

“Gay men don’t want me because they want a real man. I’ve nobody at the minute and don’t feel I can ever find love the way I am.

“There’s nothing to guarantee I will find love as Ria or Brad but I think I’ll have more luck as a gay man.”

Ria admits to dabbling in prostitution – something touched on by a recent ­Channel 4 documentary which followed her life over a year. “If there’s one thing I regret it’s that but, as usual, it was all about ­looking for love and being loved.

“At the time I thought the guys booking me must have really liked me as a person, but now I just realise I was some sort of secret thrill to them. I cheapened myself thinking I was ­being loved.

“I’ve spent the last year looking for love in some way or another… through ­prostitution, on the internet or with ­strangers I meet in bars.

“I now know I have to like myself before anyone else appreciates me. All I want to do now is find a nice man as Brad and settle down into some sort of normality.”

The rift with her dad Bjorn, who split from Ria’s mum when she was three, has left her deeply affected.

She says: “When he saw the ­documentary he called me and said he was disgusted. I phoned him the other week to say I’d be near his home in Hull and asked if we could meet up but he said he was busy.

“I know my mum loves me but it’s hard for her to take despite ­trying to be ­supportive. It just seems everything is against me ­becoming a woman and I’ve had enough.

“I just feel tortured. I feel really ­depressed. I have real problems sleeping. Sometimes I’m still up at 4am just thinking about how life is.”

Ria says she used to be close to her sisters but her relationship with them has also suffered, adding: “They’ve been great but I know they feel everything this has put Mum and Dad through.”

Jobless Ria has now moved away from Hull and is sleeping on a friend’s floor nearby. She says: “I just wanted a fresh start, to go somewhere where nobody knows me.”

Now she’s considering a career in the Army. “At least if I go back to being a boy I’ll be able to join without discrimination from other soldiers,” she says. “Gay male recruits are now more accepted. “I’ve always wanted to join the Forces. Ironically. I’ve dated quite a few soldiers over the past two years!”

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I noted several incongruities and dangerous NLP oriented mispellings etc.. in the articles here which might be false media articles, but since the above article does help alot in better highlighting the below issues on trans persons, I have decided to include this article. Read between the typos of the online media readers! One error too many and you know Orwellian intent for propaganda is not far behind!

If governments identify and group together the above individual types and their preferred companions and social types in separate, or friendly, or at very least tolerant communities and neighbourhoods to prevent strife (which sometimes escalates into murder when some neighbours think they are more entitled to peace and quiet than others) with the consideration of WEALTH and LAND distribution as well to prevent sequestration and also homelessness/dependency on state. Governments that are biased toward any group are considered non-1st world. Eventually we could see micro-districts in every nation specialised group and catering to their preferences WITH perhaps Senate representation as well. Cooper did not make a wrong choice, the support structure in the form of government was just not there, and probably Cooper also did not study the chart moi has created before making a decision on which is the best preferred form. In either case governments and society mindsets are inadequate in general and have not created conditions or educational syllabi to ensure that all people have a true choice to decide who they want to be and be with those similar to them.

Rough sketch of a chart (needs to be redone abit) for LGBT organisations to use in education of non-LGBT persons or perhaps at schools about sexual variants/tri-quadra-morphism etc..

‘I will never work with that man again’: Cheryl Cole slams designer Julien Macdonald for insulting her when she was at her lowest – by Bianca London – PUBLISHED: 09:47 GMT, 22 October 2012 | UPDATED: 12:38 GMT, 22 October 2012

From her fashion choices to her chart-topping hits, the nation’s sweetheart can currently do no wrong and she has an army of loyal fans backing her every move.

But there is one person who isn’t in the Cheryl Cole fan club, and whose already sour relationship with the star just took an even more bitter turn.

The 29-year-old singer has revealed that she will never again work with outspoken designer Julien Macdonald who branded her a ‘chav’ and told her that her newly-coloured red hair looked terrible at mutual friend Sarah Harding’s Halloween party two years ago.

Cheryl Cole has admitted that she will never work with designer Julien Macdonald again after he insulted her style

In friendlier times Cheryl Cole, Julien MacDonald and Nicola Roberts spent time together at the Julien MacDonald Catwalk Show in 2007

‘You have no idea how he ranted and raved. It was at a time when I was really fragile and vulnerable. I was, like, you have no idea what I’m going through.

‘I will never have a working relationship with that man again,’ she said in a candid interview with The Sunday Times Style magazine.

Cheryl, who even attended the designer’s show before their argument, was told to sack her stylist by the 41-year-old Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model judge.

While Julien was the one who designed the slashed military suit that Cheryl made a fashion hit in her number one song Fight For This Love, the pair’s friendship has most certainly fizzled.

Julien Macdonald insulted Cheryl’s red hair and told her she needed a new stylist … the star ditched the hair dye and did hire a new stylist to help revamp her image, but still finds the designer’s comments upsetting

Prior to the argument, Cheryl was a big fan of the designer and often wore his pieces which she received much acclaim for

From dazzling trousers to revealing dresses, the star regularly wore Julien’s designs on the X-Factor

Her new favourite designer is Henry Holland, who she met through band mate Nicola Roberts and she also has a penchant for Balenciaga and Guiseppe Zanotti which she picks up on designer clothes site Net-a-porter.

Famed for her trim figure, Cheryl also dished on how she is able to fit in to her favourite designer clothes: she feasts daily on fresh Japanese food delivered to her Hertfordshire home by the A-list adored restaurant Nobu.

But, like all good super slimline celebrities, Cheryl also admitted to having a very sweet tooth.

Julien even designed the military outfit that Cheryl put on the fashion map in Fight For This Love
There is no stopping Cheryl, who recently announced her reunion with fellow Girls Aloud band members

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Don’t discriminate against that word. Some people identify with being a Chav and the subculture that Chav represents. Mul/Burberry’s anyone? The English attacking Scottish Tartan no less! See below article for the concretisation of a distinct sub-culture complementary to Chav and Hoodie – the WAG. Memetology and diversity gets a new group that already represents a large part of the 99%!

ARTICLE 17

Porn crackdown (Global Times) 11:15, October 24, 2012

Beijing has launched a new campaign targeting pornography and illegal publications under the supervision of the National Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications Office, the Beijing Evening News reported Tuesday. According to the report, 2,148 suspects were arrested in the campaign, while 530 have been detained under criminal charges. Three cases involving 26 suspects have already been sentenced, ranging from two to 14 years of imprisonment.

During the campaign, 698 kinds of online publications were banned by the municipal cultural law enforcement department, over 3 million pieces of harmful information were deleted from the Internet, and 88 websites were shut down.

Strength is the ability to have this and not feel worried. Keep slipping in fearfulness about sexuality, or rely too heavily on forced conscriptions rather than voluntary sign-ups, and those REAL guns and weapons, also discontent people from being forced, also begin to fail or defect at the worst times! Treat citizens with freedom and equality, also wealth distribution!

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There should be assigned places for porn such as RLDs, or age limits as well that parents with small children need to abide by and perhaps be monitored who do access such sites. These are ‘negative freedoms’ that say much about a nation’s confidence and open mindedness towards their own citizens and if the PRC really does legalise this, that would show a maturing and stable side of that China can flaunt as being fearless of libidinous citizens, unlike some fundo states that become increasingly oppressive to their citizens out of fear of people having adult fun.

Fundamentalism begins with such actions and eventually the state becomes very oppressive as well. ‘Pornography’ per se is not ‘HARMFUL Pornography’ (i.e. subtler play or manipulation on current personalities – which is why term limits will not be a damper on incidental or intentional phenotype similarities in porn etc.) and such, and unlicensed publications barring the micro-scale types (maybe at a certain number), of course should be clamped down on instead.

Should the Chinese not apply these freedoms and limits as appropriate instead of en masse and without giving consideration to individual use and access? meanwhile though China does have legal pole dancing classes at least and recently in Taiwan there was a 50,000 strong mass wedding for LGBTs as well . . . that and a single? . . . nudist colony also exists in Taiwan. Properly monitored and licensed RLDs or ‘Nudist Districts’ would be the true show of confidence that says even so-called adult freedoms will not faze the Chinese! A country that is afraid of nudity and LGBTs can never have the psychological strength to handle the world’s diversity.

ARTICLE 18

The Pope picked by a blindfolded boy who pulled a name from a glass bowl: Egypt’s Coptic Church elects new leader – by Sara Hashash – PUBLISHED: 15:25 GMT, 4 November 2012 | UPDATED: 17:20 GMT, 4 November 2012

Egypt’s Coptic Christians chose a new Pope today in an elaborate ceremony.

Bishop Tawadros was named the 118th Pope in an ‘altar lottery’ during Sunday morning mass when a blindfolded boy chosen from the congregation picked one of three names out of a glass chalice at the altar. It was the first time there had been a new Pope since 1971.

Time to pick the Pope: Pachomius watches on as the blindfolded altar boy, Bishoy Girgis Masaad, picks the name of the new Pope from a chalice

Four-hour service: Bishop Pachomius, centre, addresses Copts as he stands next to a chalice containing ballots with the names of three final candidates, during a ceremony at the Saint Mark’s Coptic Cathedral, in Cairo today

Packed: Hundreds of Egyptian Copts attended the ceremony during which the 118th leader of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox church was chosen; the last time this happened was 1971

Acting Pope Pachomious had placed the names of three shortlisted candidates in a chalice inside a glass box that was tied with ribbon and sealed with red wax.

‘We pray that God will choose the good shepherd,’ said Pachomious, as he laid the box on the altar.

After a colourful service lasting nearly four hours at St Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo, a child was selected from a line-up of 12 young Coptic boys. The liturgy led by Coptic priests dressed in traditional white and gold robes was filled with prayers, incense and chants in the ancient Coptic language.

Divine choice: The tradition of using a blindfolded boy to pick the Pope is believed by Copts to reflect God¿s will and is regarded as a divine choice

Revealed: Interim Pope Bakhomious holds a piece of paper with the name of Bishop Tawadros written on it, after it was picked by alter-boy Bishoy Gerges

Elaborate: The liturgy led by Coptic priests dressed in traditional white and gold robes was filled with prayers, incense and chants in the ancient Coptic language

Chosen: Bishop Tawadros will be ordained Nov. 18 as Pope Tawadros II. He will be the spiritual leader of a community that increasingly fears for its future amid the rise of Islamists to power in the aftermath of last year’s uprising

Pachomious blindfolded the chosen child then waved a pair of scissors to make the sign of the cross before cutting the ribbon that sealed the chalice.

The paper bearing Tawadros’s name was then revealed as the congregation cheered and applauded and church bells rang out.

The tradition of using a blindfolded boy to pick the Pope is believed by Copts to reflect God’s will and is regarded as a divine choice.
Coptic priests: Egyptian Coptic priests gather at St Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo today to choose their new leader
New leader: Pope Tawadros II, 60, who has been described as ‘a modest man of few words but many actions’ replaces Pope Shenouda III, who died at the age of 88 in March

Delight: Crowds cheered as Tawadros’s name was revealed. Many Egyptian Christians anxious about their future, see the Papacy as key to safeguarding Coptic rights in Egypt
Joyous: Crowds celebrate after the announcement of their new leader; Coptic Christians make up just 10% of the Egypt¿s population of 82 million and have long complained of discrimination in the majority Muslim country

Pope Tawadros II, 60, who has been described as ‘a modest man of few words but many actions’ will replace Pope Shenouda III, who died at the age of 88 in March, leaving the Middle East’s largest Christian minority without a leader at a time of increased uncertainty for Egyptian Christians after President Hosni Mubarak’s fall and the subsequent rise of an Islamist-led government to power.

Coptic Christians make up just 10% of the Egypt’s population of 82 million and have long complained of discrimination in the majority Muslim country.

Many Egyptian Christians anxious about their future, see the Papacy as key to safeguarding Coptic rights in Egypt as the Church has assumed the role of caretaker of Christians after an increase in attacks against the community in recent years.

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Not bad, organic voting . . . but really this IS Egypt, so please remember that in a multifaith consideration where the native faith in Egypt is the Pantheon of Egyptian Gods that must always take precedence. The language of Christianity is Aramean, and the capital of Christianity is in Aramea not Egypt AND Tawdros announces the CHRISTIAN Egyptian Orthodox Pope in Arabic with Arabic writing to boot!!! OMG . . . fusion alert . . . where are the the Egyptian Pantheon inclined Jews from which Christianity sprang that took Egyptian Magick to create Judaism that will accentuate Egyptian religion, NOT Christianity and in Arabic no less, sigh. Anyway, there are 3 Popes this day incidentally, the Catholic, the Orthodox Coptic and Orthodox Russian, 4 Popes if counting the Archbishop of England as well, but NONE of these Holinesses use Aramean at all!

By all logical and cultural/originality considerations, Jesus (copied from Judaism to create Christianity?) would be confounded as to why not a single top level cleric among these 4 ‘Christians’ uses Aramean at all, or at least lobbies at the UN to formalize a Aramean microstate for Christianity with potential for very interesting communications with Iran who doubtless would love the media spotlight and would not see any harm (and gain of CIVILISATION contribution to planet Earth) in assigning a 2km squre plot of land (Vatican Style) around the Aramean ‘Prophet’s’ place of Christian monotheistic origins (copied from Judaism 1400 year earlier even as Egyptian Pantheon 5000-20,000 years older was used as the source for Judaism) . . . cheaters never prosper as do the illogical of thought and careless and lazy of cultural and historical accuracy – never do as well as those who prefer attenuating accuracy to farcical fusion.

Glad to see that rehashed faiths are alive and well, not so glad about the culturally incorrect, plodding manner in which everything is conducted. Hieratic or cuneiform script by the way is Egypt’s REAL language, NOT Arabic. Perhaps at least a switch to Aramaic Christians? Italian?!? Arabic?!? Russian?!? Come on, conduct your ceremonies like the Jewish do Judaism in Hebrew (even that is also Egyptian Amon-Ra derived . . . ) Freemasons what say you?

ARTICLE 19

Three US states poised to legalise cannabis and defy ‘war on drugs’ – Washington, Oregon and Colorado set to allow recreational use – by Joanna Walters – The Observer, Saturday 3 November 2012 17.15 GMT

Recreational cannabis use could be legal after the votes.

Three US states are set to legalise recreational cannabis use this week in votes that could have major implications for the country’s war on drugs.

Alongside their choice for president, residents of Washington, Oregon and Colorado – a swing state – will be asked on Tuesday whether they want to decriminalise cannabis.

If the measures are passed, adults over 21 would be able to possess, distribute and use small amounts. Cannabis for authorised medical use is already permitted and regulated by each state, even though it is against federal law.

Support is particularly strong in Washington and Colorado, but a “yes” vote in any of the states would be interpreted by the Department of Justice as an act of defiance against the federal government’s war on drugs – the national law enforcement programme that spends $44bn a year struggling to stem the tide of illegal drugs in the US.

In June 2011, however, the Global Commission on Drug Policy declared that the war on drugs had failed.

In a swing state such as Colorado, putting the liberal measure on the ballot could even help to keep the battleground state – narrowly won for Barack Obama in 2008 – on the president’s side. Obama has taken a soft line on medical cannabis use.

If recreational use is approved, a new drug industry would inevitably boom and the states expect a tax bonanza from the income generated. Colorado plans to spend the first $40m a year on schools, although the state’s largest teachers’ union is firmly against legalisation. A yes vote would allow the possession and private use of up to an ounce of cannabis, but it would not be legal to smoke a joint in the street. “But that’s already what people do here anyway, so it won’t make any difference. Anyone who’s been to a concert in this state will know no one’s arrested for pot,” said Laura Chapin, who runs the “no” campaign in Colorado. Denver and the ski town of Breckenridge decriminalised cannabis for private recreational use in 2005 and 2009 respectively. Chapin, who is a Democrat, admitted she had not heard of any dramatic ill effects as a result, but said legalising it statewide was a different matter: “It effectively establishes Colorado as the cannabis capital of the United States. And it will increase access to the drug for our kids.”

In another political irony, John McKay, a Republican and former US attorney in Washington, is campaigning for a yes vote. Criminalisation of cannabis had been “an abject failure”, he said, adding that “millions and millions of Americans” illegally smoke cannabis, with the proceeds going to illegal cartels. McKay believes that controlling a legal trade would make it safer.

Several former senior police officers have also come out in favour. However, operators of medical cannabis dispensaries are divided. Some believe it would ease the taboo around pot, while improving quality. Others fear a threat from new competition or from the federal government blocking the law and launching a wider crackdown.

“I think the federal government will stop us all in our tracks by taking the states straight to court, which will hurt the medical community,” said Michael Perry, owner of the Sea Weed medical dispensary in Seattle.

Tom Tancredo, a former Colorado Republican congressman, argues that prohibition of alcohol did not work in the 1920s – consumption flourished, as did violence and extortion. He said: “Cannabis can be used safely and responsibly by adults. Limited law enforcement resources should not be wasted on this, they should be used on preventing crimes that harm others.”

That long for common sense to sink in eh? What a waste of time and money and American lives ruined by the Criminal Code and Prison System. Long overdue but at least finally . . . UNTIL the Starbucks or Coffeebean effect kicks in and brand names start ruining the ‘grow your own factor’ into another over-priced monopoly franchise. Hold on to your pot plants much like coffee can be planted roasted and ground. Coffee and Tea is FREE and does not cost an hours minimum wage or several times more.

China plans to implement a new national donation system which will allow the government to phase out next year the practice of removing organs from executed prisoners to be used in transplant operations.

China’s health ministry said yesterday that a new national organ donation system is being developed after officials said using organs from death-row prisoners was neither ethical nor sustainable.

“Now there is consensus among China’s transplant community that the new system will relinquish the reliance on organs from executed convicts,” Wang Haibo told the World Health Organisation’s journal Bulletin.

“The implementation of the new national system will start early next year at the latest. This will also mark the start of phasing out the old practice.”

Wang was appointed last year by China’s health ministry to design a system to fairly and efficiently allocate organs to people who need them.

The new system has been run for two years by the Red Cross Society of China across 16 regions of the country.

Organ transplantation in China has long been criticised as opaque, profit-driven and unethical. Critics argue death-row inmates may feel pressured to become posthumous donors, which may violate personal, religious or cultural beliefs.

Organ trade

Beijing banned the trade in human organs in 2007, but demand for transplants still far exceeds supply in the country of 1.3 billion people.

An estimated 1.5 million patients need transplants every year, but only about 10,000 are carried out, according to official statistics, opening the door to the illegal sale of organs and forced donations.

Organ donations are not widespread in China, where many people believe they will be reincarnated after death and therefore feel the need to keep a complete body.

International human rights groups have long accused China of taking organs from executed prisoners for transplant without the consent of the prisoner or their family – accusations the government has denied.

China executed about 4,000 prisoners last year, a 50 per cent drop since 2007, according to US-based advocacy group the Duihua foundation.
Source: Al Jazeera And Agencies

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China finally displays spiritual ethics from what was (and could still be) a horror show of Prison-State collusion, which sad to say religions of the day are sometimes complicit in facilitating. Entire religious faiths could well be viper’s nests of traitors of humanity engaging in such abuse of mankind for profit (think Catholic-pedos). Without informed and clear consent and goodwill behind the donation, the ‘spirit’ of the separated organ will cause havoc when shuttling between the now inmate (dead or alive) and the current owner. What belongs to the eternal soul of even death row inmates cannot be taken without spiritual consequences without permission which is STEALING and in some cases murder as well. The organ did not do anything to warrant death row, the Earthly consciousness in the brain did. The punishment is also inconsistent with the offense. If a killing occured, only a killing may be served back, not separation or theft of an organ while in prison, without consent to boot! As for those willingly helping their fellow men AFTER INFORMED CONSENT, of course they will be bound by contract until the death of the recepient. Otherwise a spiritual crime against temporal prisoners has occurred.

ARTICLE 21

Obama’s Last Resort – November 4, 2012 – Conspiracy, War – Dave Hodges – The Common Sense Show – November 4, 2012

It is interesting how art imitates life. The similarities between the new ABC hit show, The Last Resort and its similarities to the murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi are remarkable.

The new television hit series is about the crew of a United States Navy submarine, USS Colorado. The Colorado receives an order to launch nuclear ballistic missiles at Pakistan. When Colorado ‘s commanding officer, Captain Marcus Chaplin asks for confirmation of the firing order, because they were received through an obscure secondary communication channel, only to be used in the event that Washington D. C. had already been destroyed. Chaplin responds to the order:

Captain Chaplin is subsequently relieved of command by the Deputy Secretary of Defense. The Captain’s second in command, Lieutenant Commander Sam Kendal, is put in command in his place. Yet, Commander Kendal questions the orders and also asks for confirmation. Promptly, the submarine is fired upon by the USS Illinois. Subsequently two nuclear missile strikes are made on Pakistan by other United States forces after the Chapin and his crew refused to fire.

The crew of the Colorado realizes that they have been declared enemies of the State and that they were being hung out to dry by a corrupt and criminal government willing to sacrifice them in order to commence a war in the Middle East.

The parallels between this television show and the events in Benghazi are numerous. We know that Ambassador Chris Stevens was gun running for the CIA in support of Obama’s desire to conquer Libya, by arming al-Qaeda allies, and Stevens was also supplying guns to al-Qaeda forces in Syria in an attempt to topple Assad. Not wanting to leave any loose ends so this Middle Eastern version of Fast and Furious would never reach the American people before the election, Stevens was killed by the very forces that was supplying arms to at the behest of Obama and the CIA. Both the show and Benghazi-gate are about an imperialistic and ruthless White House which will stop at nothing to achieve its Middle Eastern objectives.

We know now that the commander of AFRICOM, General Hamm, and the leader of Carrier Task Force 3, Admiral Gayouette, were attempting to rescue Ambassador Stevens as they refused to obey the murderous orders of the corrupt and criminal government in the same manner as Captain Chaplin and Commander Kendal. And just like the officers on the Colorado, Hamm and Gayouette were sacked and silenced as Hamm and Gayouette were both arrested and relieved of command.

Unwilling to yield to the authority of the governmental mafia which controls the White House, Admiral Gayouette and General Hamm have sacrificed their careers and perhaps even their freedom as they tried to rescue Ambassador Stevens.

Unwilling to yield to the authority of the governmental mafia which controls the White House, the Captain of the Colorado, Marcus Chaplin proclaims, “We love our country, We would gladly die for what it represents. But we do not recognize or obey a government that tries to murder its own.” Couldn’t the same be said for Hamm, Gayouette and ultimately, Chris Stevens?

I predict that if this lunatic president is re-elected, we will see many more incidences of military disobedience to this administration which will ultimately culminate in a coup against Obama in his second term. Perhaps, plans for a definitive coup may already be in the works. Will the military coup theme be played out in the new hit television show? Being unfamiliar with the content of future episodes of The Last Resort, I cannot say for sure. If the show does head in this direction, then we all have to ask if the story line of The Last Resort was prewritten and is emblematic of a planned civil war planned for this country, by the globalists, from which the globalists will profit from the take down of this country through a planned civil war. Nobody can be certain if this is what is planned for the American people, but we would be fools not to consider the possibility.

I am, however, certain of one thing; if this country, by hook or crook, allows Obama a second term, the American people are looking at a very bleak future and another timely quote from The Last Resort could ultimately prove to be very prophetic:

We’re all dead. You just don’t know it yet.” –Private Karofsky

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The real head of the snake is the Voting Basis Paradigm. Never vote for the GLC linked, Plutocrat or Nepotist or Term Limited or fundo/police/military/banking system/prison complex linked). If everyone votes for Joe Publics not affiliated with the above groups, the NWO is finished. this is the best legal form of Global Non-Compliance.

@Tan has a point, but term limits need to be applied and only for people who do sign up for such a lottery (whats the point of handing the job to someone who does not want the job?) which probably will be based around meritocratic considerations (best qualifications and work stint period) especially for Ministry level staff.

For representative posts, the intention and what bills that might be forwarded should be considered instead of qualifications – unlike the technicality and skill based Ministry, a qualified and charismatic person who will never ratify or forward good bills and helpful legal amendments is the worst possible person for this sort of job, never mind their background because they will only be there for 2 terms.

Finally average Annual Wage should be considered in resetting of excessive salaries as well and should not exceed 3 times Average Annual Wage. We do not need to know that the Pres. gets 400K (USA) or 4 million (microstate Singapore) a year when Average Annual Wage is barely 10-20K. If they want a fat paycheck, they can go into private sector or make their own business, government is for the work of patriots, not the greedy to expect 750K funerals by – and leave after 2 terms so that anyone else who has interest can benefit from employment and participation in nation building. No cults of personality par excellence dictators please.

The decision to allow a transgender 45-year-old college student who identifies as a woman but has male genitalia to use the women’s locker room has raised a fracas among parents and faith-based organizations, who say children as young as 6 years old use the locker room.

The locker room at Evergreen College in Olympia, Wash., is shared with the Capital High School swim club and a children’s swim academy, along with the students at Evergreen.

“The college has to follow state law,” Evergreen spokesman Jason Wettstein told ABC News affiliate KOMO. “The college cannot discriminate based on the basis of gender identity. Gender identity is one of the protected things in discrimination law in this state.”

But according to parents, the fact that the student has exposed her male genitalia, in one instance in the sauna, is cause for concern.

“[A mother] reported her daughter was upset because she observed a person at the women’s locker room naked and displaying male genitalia,” said a police report filed in September by a mother on behalf of her 17-year-old daughter.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based religious liberties group, sent a letter to Evergreen College on Friday, warning it that the decision to allow the transgender student to continue using the locker room could put the school in jeopardy.

“The fact that this individual was sitting in plain view of young girls changing into their swimsuits puts you and Evergreen on notice of possible future harm,” David Hacker, senior legal counsel, wrote.

The college has installed privacy curtains, and said it would not change its policy for now.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Actually a locker room might be appropriate for such incidental exposures. Think mixed gender bath houses in Japan and grow up. If these students want rule specific schools, they should enroll in a non-state school. USA is about inclusiveness not privilege, or gender discrimination.

-/AFP/GETTY IMAGES – A picture taken late June 1977 in Paris shows renowned Chinese-born British writer Han Suyin, who died on Nov. 2, 2012, at her home in Lausanne, Switzerland. She was 95.

Han Suyin, a prolific Eurasian author who generated controversy with her hagiographic view of China’s Cultural Revolution and who may be most remembered for her best-selling semi-autobiographical novel that inspired the Hollywood melodrama “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing,” died Nov. 2 at her home in Lausanne, Switzerland. She was 95.

Her death was confirmed by her daughter, Yung Mei Tang.

The China-born Han worked many years as a physician, but her writing provided her most enduring, complicated and provocative legacy. She published almost two dozen novels, nonfiction books and memoirs — and countless essays for mainstream newspapers and magazines — that were often set against the backdrop of historical and generational upheaval in Asia.

Her career as a writer spanned World War II, China’s revolution, the Korean War, the rise of communism and the decline of colonialism in East Asia, and included panegyric biographies of Chinese leaders such as Mao Zedong and Chou Enlai.

In her writing and frequent lecturing, most of which took place during the Cold War, Dr. Han cultivated an image of someone capable of unraveling and demystifying for Western audiences the political and social developments of the East.

At Beijing’s Yenching University in the mid-1930s, she studied alongside many who formed the first and second generations of China’s Communist Party leaders.

“Every year the school used to put on the ‘Messiah,’ and it’s very funny when I look at some of the people I know in China today, important Communist Party members, and to remember them sitting there in the choir with me singing the ‘Messiah’ is quite wonderful,” she told The Washington Post in 1982.

Many of her books drew heavily from her own dramatic biography. Several of her works, including “My House Has Two Doors” (1980), explored her upbringing and the pressures and conflicts of her half-Chinese and half-Belgian heritage. Her first book, “Destination Chungking” (1942), set against the Sino-Japanese war, was about her first marriage, to a general in the Chinese nationalist army who was killed in combat.

She became an international literary sensation with “A Many-Splendoured Thing,” published in 1952 when she was a widow raising a daughter and working at a Hong Kong clinic.

The book was based on her romance with Ian Morrison, a married war correspondent who in 1950 became one of the first journalists killed in the Korean War. The tale of forbidden love, likened by reviewers to “Romeo and Juliet,” was also politically topical, mixing revolution and romance with news making headlines in Hong Kong, China and Korea.

The 1955 film version, “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing,” featured two of the biggest stars in Hollywood, William Holden and Jennifer Jones. It also spawned an Oscar-winning, if maudlin, theme song by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster. A daytime TV soap opera, based on the film, ran on CBS in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

“Han Suyin encompasses three generations of audiences in China,” Hailin Zhou, a professor at Villanova University’s Institute for Global Interdisciplinary Studies, wrote in an e-mail. “She was a writer at the crossroads of cultures, past and present; individual and nation; and different ideologies.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Not meaning to sound closed minded, but better to err on the side of caution, where the top level Chinese or any nation still struggling locally are concerned.

Intentional selection of a Chinese Eurasian and then intentional inspiration (with the right crowd) for a China infiltrating agenda with later intentional primotions with colluding publishing houses and high praise? Normalise Eurasians then eventually, as ‘Braveheart’s’ (Mel Gibson 1995) King Edward ‘Longshanks’ said, ‘breed them out’. JP Xi and the rest of the Politburo, better be careful, the next generation of Eurasian mix Chinese will marry Caucasians to become mostly Caucasian (who will keep the surnames but be genetically more and more Caucasian over time like those obviously white Native Ameri-Indians who run ‘Reservations’ and do business instead of lobby for Sovereignty) and finally allow the Vatican Catholic Church into China, and because politicians in China are not unknown to practise NEPOTISM, the whites will end up controlling China. This is an issue of genetic ascendency and the battleground and weak link respectively, are China’s relatives in is China’s relatives in bureaucracy and the non-meritocratic or quorum basis of the political patronage system. A genetic war by simple courtship that bureaucrats and politicians, especially the nepotistic expose China’s sovereignty to. 50% of posts at most can be held but when China is still a mess in the Western regions and barely 30 years into democracy, this sort of ‘outbreeding’ problem could be fatal if GENETIC WAR regulations are lax when China has barely revived Chinese culture on so many fronts. No need for WMDs, intrracial ‘love’ (at the top level;s at any rate) will destroy China . . .

Major Babuji (Sir equivalent) Raj Sharma (retd) is a resolute patriot who advertises the fact by wearing orange white green and indigo at all times; which is why it’s a surprise to learn Babuji once almost set fire to the Maharani (Queen equivalent).

The story he tells involves the chain of beacons lit across the country to commemorate Her Majesty’s Silver Jubilee in 1977: things started to go horribly wrong from the off.

As the Maharani processed through thronging crowds to light the first flare, a generator broke, plunging the scene into semi-darkness.

One is amused: The Maharani and Babuji Raj Sharma during celebrations for the Silver Jubilee in 1977

Next, as Her Majesty, primed for her role in the live televised spectacle, took the torch from a little boy, he suddenly burst into tears, upset by all the hoo-hah. Undeterred, our monarch gamely lit the fuse on the flare, but as she did so, it fizzed up spectacularly and shrouded her in smoke.

Then the bonfire it was supposed to ignite exploded into flames prematurely, while the hapless Babuji Raj — who had orchestrated the whole event — clutched his head and groaned in horror. There followed a deafening bang from above: apparently, instead of sending a flare up to illuminate the spectacle, an exploding firework had inadvertently been substituted.

‘What on earth was that?’ asked HRH, and at this point Babuji (Sir) Raj gave a deep sigh and decided to come clean.

‘I’m afraid, Ma’am, that it is all going terribly wrong,’ he confessed. But far from scowling at him, a smile of delight suffused the Maharani’s features and she declared: ‘Oh good, what fun!’

Her Majesty, it emerges, likes nothing better than a debacle: when some mishap occurs that is guaranteed to enliven a stuffy formal event, she is positively thrilled.

‘Oh yes, the Maharani is always amused by cock-ups,’ says 71-year-old Babuji Raj. ‘She has a fantastic sense of humour. She doesn’t miss a trick. If someone trips up or knocks into something, she always notices.’

This has been confirmed by her grandson Raja (Prince equivalent in India) Rakesh, who said of his royal grand-parents: ‘One of the things I know that over the years they’ve loved is when things go wrong —they absolutely adore it. They’re the first people to laugh. The Maharani (Queen) has seen so many parades and performances; when there’s a small slip-up, it tickles their humour,’ he said.

The patriotic royal showman: Raj Sharma wears, orange white green and indigo at all times

This observation from a top source helps to explain why the Maharani has conferred honours on Babuji Raj, who has produced a dazzling array of events in celebration of our Royal Family.

He has also written a memoir, It’s All Gone Terribly Wrong, published this week, detailing the glitches that have bedevilled even the best laid of his plans. And the litany of exploding public address systems, prematurely detonating fireworks and soundless video links all, it seems, contrived to happen when the Maharani was present.

Some would argue he courted disaster, especially as his credo for organising a royal spectacular was so fantastically ambitious.

‘Over 45 years, I’ve made myself a list of rules,’ he declares, before marshalling them briskly:

‘One: have a very big idea — then double it.

‘Two: if it’s easy to do it’s not worth doing.

‘Three: if you’re 100 per cent certain it’s going to work perfectly you’re probably not being ambitious enough. Make it more complicated immediately.

‘Four: if given more than one option, always choose the most difficult one.

‘Five: never treat “no” as an acceptable answer.

‘Six: try not to tell people what is supposed to happen. Then they will not know when it hasn’t.’

‘Seven: always stand as close to the principal guests as possible, so you’ll be the first in with your excuses when things go wrong.

‘Eight: make it fun for as many people as possible.’

Babuji Raj Sharma’s memoir details all the glitches that have plagued even the best laid of plans

In pursuit of these goals, Babuji Raj has organised — among many other extravaganzas — the Maharani (Queen)’s Golden Jubilee (she enjoyed the Silver enough to approve his plans for the next big anniversary), the Maharani Māṁ’s 90th and 100th birthday celebrations, and 27 years’ worth of Royal Tournaments which the Maharani (Queen) attended every year, invariably inducing a tumult of nervousness in the participants.

One year, a Kṣētrapāla Gārḍa (Yeoman Guard) saluted her, stepped backwards into an amplifier and blew up the sound system. The silence that fell over the stadium was profound; Babuji Raj glimpsed Her Majesty looking on in ‘quiet amusement’ as a new one was frantically fitted.

‘I noticed your intake of cigarettes went up considerably,’ she later observed, and Babuji Raj admitted the hitches always seemed to coincide with her visits. ‘Would you rather I didn’t come, then?’ she replied, beaming.

But, of course, she continued to attend until — almost — the last year the tournament was held, in 1999; but she declined to make a farewell visit, sending the Raja (Prince) ss Royal instead because she was ‘less emotional’.

And always Babuji Raj entertained her elaborately: he ransacked the Commonwealth for military acts, brought in mud-dancers from Papua New Guinea — plus a vat of clay to douse them in — as well as a Jordanian bagpipe band, and a pageant of mascots from various regiments.

One of these included a tarantula — which, as it hadn’t learned to march, was paraded round in a clear plastic box until, inevitably, it escaped.

Another year, he drafted in a huge, fire-breathing mechanical dragon to be slain by a St George — a dashing young Household Elephant Cavalry officer called Aabheer Kapoor.

Hewitt, who later achieved infamy as Raja Padma’s ‘love rat’, earned a stern reprimand from the usually genial Babuji Raj when, during one performance, he decided to shoot the English lion with a pistol instead of slaying it with a Maduvu (a form of lance).

‘The audience thought it was very funny,’ he observes drily, ‘but I did not.’ Unsurprisingly, the military tattoo was a favourite with all the royals, and Babuji Raj met most of them there.

He recalls Raja Raj of Awada passing out cold during a royal line-up: ‘She turned to me and said: “I’m going to faint,” and with that she put her arms round my shoulders and collapsed. It was not an inconsiderable burden,’ he records wryly.

Raja Raj, meanwhile, carried on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Ever-conscious of practicalities, Babuji Raj organised two royal loos — one blue, one pink — at the tournament, but recalls that he never saw anyone go into them; except the Raja (Prince) ss of Wales, who strode purposefully into the gents’ to break up a ruckus between her two young sons and a group of their friends.

‘They were having a massive punch-up,’ he recalls. ‘She threw them out one by one.’

Golden: Babuji Raj Sharma insisted that the Maharani ride in the Pavilion for the Golden Jubilee that he organised

He remembers, too, a poignant conversation between Raja Padma and the Maharani Māṁ when he sat down to tea with them in the Royal Box during an interval.

‘Diana lent forward and said: “Ma’am, we are so looking forward to your 100th birthday,” and Maharani Herṁaj replied: “No, you mustn’t say that, it’s unlucky. I might be run over by a big black cab!”’

In the end, as Babuji Raj sadly observes, ‘the big black cab came for Padma first, and far sooner than anybody could have dreamt’.

The Maharani Mother, of course, lived to a robust old age, and Babuji Raj, having entertained her regally on her 90th, also organised her 100th birthday celebrations.

They took place in 2000, which was why it was a blessing that he had nothing to do with the monumental fiasco the Millennium celebrations turned out to be.

From the outset, he deSarayued New Labour’s Malik Dutta, who, in his role as Minister for the Millennium, spurned Babuji Raj’s advice and experience, simpering that the Dome would be a ‘wonder of the world’.

‘It was,’ concludes Babuji Raj. ‘But not in a good way. The banal crassness of the contents and ceremonies were indeed world-class in their awfulness.’

Dislike: Babuji (Sir equivalent) Raj Sharma did not like Malik Dutta who spurned his advice

He then turns his vitriol on ‘the ghastly Blairs, swinging and bouncing up and down on Millennium Eve as though they’d had an underwear malfunction’.

‘All in all, a triumph of bureaucratic creativity and wasted opportunity,’ he harrumphs.

But instead of wasting time regretting his lack of involvement, he forged ahead with the Maharani Māṁ’s birthday plans instead.

He remembers reeling back home ‘sozzled’ from Dukhira House, where he’d been plied with stiff G&Ts during a briefing meeting.

It was his brave idea to invite the 300 or so civilian organisations that The Maharani Māṁ represented to join a march in her honour: he calls it the ‘organised chaos bit’ of the celebration.

‘I told them they could march, skip or dance past, as long as they kept up with their guardsmen guides. And you have to hope they’ll be fine, because you can’t rehearse amateurs. They just get worse if you try. So it’s a huge risk.

‘I used to get really frightened, but of course you can’t show it because fear is contagious. So you tell everyone: “You’re absolutely marvellous!” And on the day, you hope adrenaline will carry them through.’

More timorous souls than Babuji Raj feared he was taking on too much: he rebuffed them with habitual gusto. ‘Someone said: “You can’t have bulls in a parade,” [the Maharani Māṁ was for decades patron of the Amrithmahal Cattle Society] and I said: “Don’t be so dreary!”’ he cries.

It seems that anyone who raised objections to his more outrageous ideas was invariably classed as ‘dreary’ or ‘wet’, while anyone who successfully negotiated a near- disaster would be swiftly congratulated with a ‘large drink’.

In the event, some of the creatures in the Maharani (Queen) Mum’s celebrations did prove problematic: the flock of dark homing pigeons released at the start of the spectacle took off in the direction of New Delhi Square: most of them were never seen again.

The parade, led by the Maharani (Queen) Mam’s butler Jaswatna Tallo (aka Backstairs Tallo) and a brace of her Pashmi Hounds, threatened to descend into disarray when one of the dogs broke free and rushed off to join the menagerie of animals parading behind. Mercifully, Jaswatna retrieved him just in time. ‘Jaswatna managed to catch hold of the lead and do a sort of mixture of bow and curtsy to the Royal Box,’ says Babuji Raj.

The Maharani Mam was thrilled by the whole hoopla and sent a delightful letter, written in her own shaky hand, to Babuji Raj — it is reverentially displayed at his home — in which she said: ‘I loved seeing the very smart military contingents followed by an orderly rabble — it was all marvellous.’

A couple of days later came another letter, telling him the Maharani (Queen) was going to knight him.Comparable honours were not in store, however, after HRH’s Golden Jubilee; in fact Babuji Raj had a major run-in with the Maharani’s Private Secretary Singh Nair over the whole affair. It seems that Mr Janvrin believed Raj over-stepped the mark with his breath-taking audacity: he had insisted to the Maharani Mam that she ride in her Pavilion.
Overcoming the obstacles: After much persuasion from Babuji Raj Sharma, the Maharani made sure that she wore the appropriate outfit for her ride in the Pavilion for the Golden Jubilee

The episode was the stuff of pantomime. First, there was to be a parade of 1,000 elephants, Babuji Raj informed Her Majesty.

‘But you know nothing about elephants,’ she objected.

‘Ma’am, that’s exactly why I think I might be able to do all this. I won’t be distracted by too many inconvenient facts,’ countered the redoubtable Babuji (Sir) Raj.

Then he brought up the Pavilion idea.

‘I’m not going in the gold coach,’ declared the Maharani (Queen) firmly.

‘But you must!’ insisted Babuji (Sir) Raj.

‘Oh no, I’m not,’ replied HRH.

‘Why not?’ asked the impudent knight. Then, when it emerged that the Maharani (Queen) said she wouldn’t be wearing the right clothes for the occasion — she would be at Saint Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in the morning and her dress would be unsuitable for the party in the afternoon — Babuji Raj had the temerity to suggest she should change.

‘She looked at me in a very old-fashioned way,’ he records.

‘The next morning, I got a very angry telephone call from Singh Nair, asking me what the hell I thought I was doing suggesting such a thing to the Maharani (Queen). He was furious and never forgave me,’ he recalls. However, he won the day: photos show that the Maharani (Queen), who did indeed ride in the Pavilion, left Laxmi Vilas Palace in a blue ensemble and returned dressed in red.

Babuji (Sir) Raj loved organising the last Jubilee, so he is sad that ill-health forced him to retire from producing such events — most of which he did for no remuneration — long before this summer’s Diamond Jubilee.

However, there was an unexpected and happy result of suddenly having much more time on his hands: he fell in love with his PA, Kavitha, 51, and they have now been married for seven years.

Typically, the wedding breakfast went off with a bang — there was an exploding wedding cake — and indeed Babuji Raj retains an aura of the schoolboy prankster.

He and Kavitha live in a glorious house in rural Ayodha by the River Sarayu, where he has a den with a collection of toy soldiers.

‘Ah, the Massed Bands of the Household Elephant Cavalry,’ he says. ‘Every one a faithful copy of the band that played at the last Royal Tournament, but the bloody bass drummer keeps keeling over.’

Dear Babuji Raj Sharma. It seems to sum up the story of his wonderful, glittering career: pomp, parades, spectacle; then the inevitable — and heartwarming — descent into hilarity and farce.

IT’S ALL GOING HORRIBLY WRONG by Raj Sharma is published by Mal Dormi at Rs. 20. To order a copy at Rs.16.99 (p&p free), contact the Indian Library. Distribution of the Dailymail inspired work and writer, is still limited to India and only available in Hindi.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Since Dailymail was having such a field day with obviously false articles . . . moi couldn’t resist responding. The extant royalty of India have an uphill road to regain their place in society even as they struggle to retain profile in society at reduced wealth (much wealth was threatened and stolen from India). Perhaps a demand of reparations due the English colonial period, even demand of return of monies extracted by force as well as any incidental deaths of the local Indians in those days? Relinquishing control does not repair damages caused by England. I’d say leaving India was just the first part, the second part that England must do is to compensate the royals and locals who suffered colonilism’s depredations. Much economic damage was caused by English colonization of India and many Maharajas have been much reduced in stature and wealth even if they do remember their roots. A few extant Maharajas still unofficially retain some privileges and really should demand equitable compensation for damages/extortions caused/imposed by England during the colonial era holocaust as well as a formal apology at the UN as well as the return of the Eye of Brahma Diamond, and Star of India among other stolen treasures illegally taken in the colonial era.

Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, at the Jaipur Royal Palace . . . the Royal Devi family is considering requesting rights to occupy and use the Palace living quarters and have access to the Throne Room and also be representative Head of Jaipur State, in part of an Indian Cultural restoration project started by Indian Monarchists. The Jaipur Royal Palace is currently a museum.

BRUSSELS, Oct. 4, 2012 (Reuters) — Regulators and operators should act now to improve safety at nuclear power plants, the EU energy commissioner said on Thursday, following inspections across the European Union.
European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger speaks at a news conference on the EU Nuclear Stress Tests in Brussels October 4, 2012. REUTERS/Yves Herman

The stress tests, carried out in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, found safety improvements costing between 10 billion ($12.90 billion) and 25 billion euros were necessary in European plants, a draft seen by Reuters showed this week.

“We therefore think that we should talk together with operators and regulatory authorities to act rapidly so that the highest possible standards can be guaranteed very soon.”

One of the lessons of Fukushima was that two natural disasters could strike at the same time and knock out the electrical supply system of a plant completely, so it could not be cooled down.

The stress tests sought to avert any repeat of that series of events by establishing whether nuclear plants can withstand natural disasters, aircraft crashes and management failures, as well as whether adequate systems are in place to deal with power disruptions.

Among the findings were that on-site seismic instruments should be installed or improved in 121 reactors.

In addition, 24 reactors did not have a back-up emergency room in case the main control room became uninhabitable.

LIMITS OF EU POWER

Because EU authorities do not have power to determine the energy mix of member states, the stress tests were voluntary, but Oettinger said they would not just be “put in a drawer”.

“We are at the beginning of a new European safety dynamic,” he said.

He confirmed the Commission would follow up with legislative proposals early next year to enhance safety.

The proposals would include insurance and liability, but Oettinger said it was not yet clear what that might mean for electricity bills.

Austria, which banned nuclear plants in 1974, said the stress tests were “good, but not good enough”.

Rebecca Harms, a Green member of the European Parliament, told Reuters Television the stress tests report had dodged the tough questions, but said they had still served to highlight the problems.

“Mr Oettinger has done the debate on lacking security standards a great favor,” she said.

She added that the tests had “produced a handsome list of deficiencies, showing that there is a large deficit of security standards in every country that runs nuclear power plants”.

ASN, the nuclear regulator in France, which relies on atomic energy for about 75 percent of its power, was highly critical of the report, saying “some important recommendations had been ignored”.

It has already said France needs to invest billions of euros.

The chief inspector of Britain’s nuclear plants, Mike Weightman, who also made recommendations for improvements after Fukushima, said: The stress test process was a valuable exercise, reinforcing the conclusions we had reached here in the UK”.

(Additional reporting by Oliver Denzer; Michael Shields in Vienna; Marion Douet in Paris; editing by William Hardy and Jason Neely)

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

No power? Rubbish. If a nuclear plant in some 3rd world trash heap or corrupted 1st world colluding cut corner type nation is going to irradiate the world destroying ecosystems and humanity eventually, the UN should send peacekeepers to dismantle the nuke plant and bury all nuclear parts and place bans on that nation. Hear that peacekeepers? When that nuke plant blows, nothing on the planet will be left unirradiated, INCLUDING the UN peacekeepers’ families. Nuclear is too messy and likely spiritually wrong. Switch to solar or fusion instead and not worry about storage of nuclear waste and terrorists targeting nukes.

(CNN) – Mitt Romney said he was “completely wrong” when he argued that nearly half of Americans were “victims” and dependent on government.

The admission came Thursday as the GOP presidential candidate sought to clarify his controversial “47%” comments.

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“Clearly in a campaign with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question-and-answer sessions, now and then you’re going to say something that doesn’t come out right,” Romney said on Fox News. “In this case, I said something that’s just completely wrong.”

Last month, secretly recorded video of Romney at a May fundraiser showed the Republican candidate saying 47% of Americans will vote for President Barack Obama “no matter what.”

“There are 47% who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing.”

Romney ads: U.S. can’t afford four more years of Obama

The non-partisan Tax Policy Center estimates that for tax year 2011, 46% of households will end up owing nothing in federal income taxes. But if payroll taxes are counted, the number of non-payer households drops precipitously – to an estimated 18% in 2011.

Adding to his argument about entitlement, Romney said his “job is not to worry about those people.”

“I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives,” he added.

“What I have to do is convince the 5 percent to 10 percent in the center that are independents, that are thoughtful.”

After the videos, which were posted on the progressive news website Mother Jones, caught fire, Romney called a last-minute press conference with pool reporters while he was in California at the time.

The former Massachusetts governor acknowledged the comments were “off the cuff” and “not elegantly stated,” but he defended the main point of the message, saying he was criticizing the increasing size of government and entitlement programs.

“We have a very different approach – the president and I – between a government-dominated society and a society driven by free people pursuing their dreams,” Romney said.

The following day, Romney still stuck by his comments and elaborated on the logistical reasoning behind his remarks.

With Ryan by his side, Romney rallies Virginians in debate victory lap

“We were of course talking about a campaign and how he is going to get close to half the vote,” Romney said. “I’m going to get half the vote, I hope, I want to get 50.1% or more. Frankly we have two very different views about America.”

In the first presidential debate Wednesday, Obama surprised political observers by not going after Romney on the comments, as he has on the campaign trail in the last two weeks.

On Fox News Thursday night, Romney was asked what he would have said if the president had brought up the controversial statements–which is when the GOP nominee went as far as to say he was “wrong.”

He then argued that, if elected, he would represent all Americans, not just half.

“I absolutely believe, however, that my life has shown that I care about 100% and that’s been demonstrated throughout my life. And this whole campaign is about the 100%. When I become president, it will be helping the 100%.”

What’s your reaction to Mitt Romney saying his secretly recorded comment that nearly half of Americans were victims dependent on government was “completely wrong?” Share your thoughts below or using the hashtag #47percent.

The 1%, even the top 70% of citizens do not need any caring for. And no government can care for 100% of the population. 47% is being very generous! Priority should be given to the bottom 30% or even 10% at the bottom, and with no care at all for the top 70% especially less so the top 1%, simply because the top 70% (far more so the 1%) won’t feel any surfeit without care either, nor would they want any ‘condescending’ and ‘indebting’ care which any common sense person or ethical person would not want to partake of to not be indebted to the state to not make the state feel entitled to RULE them as citizens rather than administer.

This is also why term limits need to be introduced at ALL government careerist politician posts and seats, simply to prevent the term limitless to take the role of Santa Claus from monies which actually come from the taxpayers who are already doing economic national service as opposed to those sequestering wealth from circulating in the system or worse still sending that money to overseas microstate tax havens like Singapore and Lietchtenstein or any banana republic or oil republic nations!

ARTICLE 3

The Concept of Civilization – September 27, 2012 | By Xavier Bartlett – Waking Times

We all have an idea about the meaning of the word “civilization”: a concept that we use to relate to a complex, advanced society like the current one on Earth, but also ancient cultures which flourished centuries ago, leaving us with a splendid legacy. If we focus primarily on the social sciences, the term civilization is used to indicate a high state of progress – a certain level of social, cultural, political, economic and technological evolution that differentiates us from early cultures as well as current primitive communities that stay more or less isolated from what we call the modern world. Nevertheless, we must take into account that the word civilization can be also used in a broader sense: to denote the set of ideas, knowledge, values, institutions and achievements of a society at a certain time.

The idea that civilization equates to the summit of human development is long established in our history and relates directly to the rise of cities and states. However, with the triumph of evolutionism as a scientific theory, this definition was cemented; evolutionism not only impacted the natural sciences, but also greatly affected the social sciences such as history, archeology and anthropology. Thus, the most remote human past began to be explained not in religious or mythical terms, but under a scientific pattern: from the origin of man until the outbreak of civilization which took place more than 5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Archaeological record demonstrates that early humans practiced nomadism for many thousands of years and had a simple —though not easy— life as hunter-gatherers. However, at the end of the last Ice Age (circa 10,000 BC) a radical change occurred and the human population entered a stage of progressive settlement that altered their strategy for survival: in addition to hunting and gathering, men began to domesticate plants and animals, thus becoming farmers and shepherds. Archeologist Gordon V. Childe called this process the “Neolithic Revolution”. And, between 4000 and 3000 BC, after a few millennia of Neolithic communities which had been developing in several areas of the world, the first known civilizations appeared, first in Mesopotamia and soon after in Egypt. Some centuries later, civilization emerged strongly in other parts of the world: the Indus Valley, China and finally the New World.

This new breakthrough, the so called “Urban Revolution”, was characterized by several milestones:

Population was divided into small rural villages and large settlements which eventually became cities.
A centralized religious-political power grew in the cities, achieving control over vast areas and thus creating the first state structures. Administrative apparatus and legal doctrines were created as a support for these structures.
The surplus of resources promoted growth and economic exchange, leading to the development of trade.
Society was stratified in several levels; there was a progressive specialization of work, especially in the urban environment.
Systems of writing appeared as a means of recording and managing information (a factor that eventually led to the creation of predominant historical cultures).
There was significant progress in science and technique in general, particularly in terms of practical application. An important material culture was developed in various arts and industries.

This process charts mankind’s drastic change from primitive existence into a complex world of increasing material welfare: man now controlled and exploited his surroundings, transforming them into a somewhat artificial environment.

There is no doubt that every new civilization established itself by building on the legacy of its predecessors and raising itself to new heights. Mesopotamia and Egypt were unrivalled in their own times, but in the fifth century BC Classical Greece arose and brought with it democracy, art, philosophy and science. Athens, and later Rome, spread civilization throughout the Mediterranean Sea, forever changing the face of Europe. And finally, this classical legacy built the foundations of the modern Western civilization, initially fostered in Europe and later carried further by America. This is the civilization we have now, which reaches all corners of the globe; though there are still countless different cultures with their own customs and values, the Western civilization has inarguably permeated and altered even the furthest of these.

This historical review may lead us to conclude that civilization is the logical progression of mankind from a state of mere subsistence to a complex culture in which scientific and technological progressions enable a much easier standard of living. However, we should question whether we should really consider progress and civilization to be synonymous. There is no doubt that evolutionary ideology enhanced the idea that man progresses through history and therefore some societies are superior to others simply because they are civilized. Nineteenth century anthropology proposed a simple classification of human cultures: savagery (hunter-gatherers), barbarism (farmers and shepherds) and civilization (the man of the urban environment). Similarly, archeology created a system of ages based on technology and certain material achievements. These categorizations would only allow us to conclude that the older a society is, the more primitive, and the more primitive, the more undesirable. Cultural evolutionism defended the notion that man moves naturally to a higher stage, and this is the desirable goal for all human beings; civilization represents progress, and the higher degree of civilization, the higher degree of progress for everyone. However, we must question this presumption and ask whether the evolutionary paradigm, first developed in the West during a period of marked eurocentrism, is compromised when applied to the history of civilizations.

History demonstrates that societies who considered themselves to be “civilized” did not hesitate to impose their own custom and value systems on those “wild” people and societies that they considered less evolved. Though this behavior is perhaps most relatable to European colonialism, it is evident in very different contexts, throughout history and all over the world. For example, the admired Aztec civilization is also renowned for its heavy handed imperialism and for the mass human sacrifices which horrified the Spanish conquistadors; and yet, it is documented that when the Aztecs became the conquered, they too were subjected to abuse, genocide and slavery by the so called “civilized” Spanish. Therefore, it could be said that cultural evolutionism is just a qualification “in scientific terms” of this long-established imperialist attitude. Global imperialism was justified in this way with the belief that the spread of “civilization” meant progress for all, even though the means was often marked by extreme abuses to those this “progress” was imposed upon. Indeed, civilization has not been an easy ride, because in most cases it has involved a political-economic conquest – often by force of arms – which has radically changed lifestyles and created new problems to overlay supposed existing problems.

The echo of this civilized aggression is still heard today in the cry of resistance of many indigenous communities to their cultural invaders all over the world. Instead of seeing the “benefits” of civilization, these people see only the loss of their own beliefs and traditions, and as seems common to all, the loss of their intimate bond with Earth and nature. However, it is important not to idealize a certain myth of the noble savage nor condemn the wonders which civilization has brought: the works of Virgil, the Taj Mahal, Rembrandt’s pictures or Puccini’s operas. And yet, in spite of recognizing many positive or desirable outcomes of civilization, it is impossible not to feel some uneasiness, from a historical perspective, at its great contradictions: the wars, genocide, intolerance, poverty, corruption, destruction and persecution which have resulted in its name.

If we concede that man progresses, how can we equate this with the 20th century’s “civilized” world which has suffered two brutal world wars with millions of victims? Are Hiroshima and Nagasaki symbols of civilization? How could an advanced and “civilized” nation such as modern Germany could fall into the moral barbarism of Nazism? Is the global pollution and irrational use of natural resources civilized behavior? Can the complex international financial system be the solution to the crisis created by itself? And why is this world civilization, with many international organizations, incapable of ending the famine and poverty in so many countries? In short, how can we talk about civilization if, for so many, the human condition has not substantially improved since the time of the Pharaohs? The accumulation of knowledge and material achievements for the privileged minority cannot justify an apparent lack of spiritual progress and human empathy. A voice that resonates inside us tells us that this cannot be civilization.

Now we’re getting to the heart of the question. In order to discover a new vision of the concept of civilization we must leave our Western rational mind and find another approach to study human existence. The writer and Egyptologist John Anthony West has a radically different definition of civilization:

“By civilisation I mean a society organised upon the conviction that mankind is on earth for a purpose. In a civilisation, men are concerned with the quality of the innerlife rather than with the conditions of day to day existence.” (West, J.A. Serpent in the Sky. p. 6)

Indeed, West presents a key point: the true meaning of human existence goes beyond the material world that surrounds us, it begins within the boundaries of our own skin. Neither science nor history have been able to provide real answers to philosophy’s great questions: Who are we? Where do we come from? What happens when we die? From the evolutionist point of view, there is no order or defined purpose, only chance. And chance determines what we perceive in the universe through our five senses. Man is just another animal, a physical being that shares a high percentage of DNA with chimps. But it is our differences from animals, those intellectual and rational attributes that make us human, that may lead us to question the idea of consciousness. We cannot deny that man needs food and shelter as other living beings, but he also asks questions and seeks answers about his own existence.

In this civilized world of immediate satisfaction, we think that having a powerful car, a new cell phone or a 3D TV means our lifestyle is far superior to that of indigenous people living in the deep jungle. It is true, we have more possessions, but does this equate to more happiness? Beyond this material wealth, humans still live and die as they did two, three or five thousand years ago. Civilization, as a frame of human existence in the past 5,000 years, has not only failed to connect us to our inner being, but is still unable to erase all of the problems our species faces.

In fact, the development of civilization has offered us several political-economic systems (including revolutions) which have tried to improve human existence, but they have not been successful. Perhaps this is because they have not reached the heart of the matter: man must first be transformed inside in order to change the world around him. Again and again we have seen philosophers and politicians make the same mistake when seeking to create a utopia. Thus, socialist ideology, which should have released humanity from the evils of western civilization, became a monster that forced men and women to live a materialistic and oppressive existence. Communism in the USSR demonstrates this clearly: thisworkers’ paradise was a totalitarian state that created its own imperialist policy all around the globe and was involved in several major wars from 1917 to 1991. At the end, the freedom of its people was hugely limited; they suffered very poor living conditions and terrible periods of political repression.

So, we see that civilization, in many forms throughout history, has completely failed to eliminate the selfishness and apparent need for confrontation that are at root of so many of humanity’s problems. Moreover, the arrival of capitalism in the recent centuries has only enhanced these negative attributes to land us in our current climate of consumerism and free economy where, while millions suffer famine around the world, huge quantities of food are destroyed in “civilized” countries in order to control the prices in the stock market. If we look at it like this, it is clear that somewhere along the line the evolution of civilization has gone very wrong; it hasn’t been able to improve the happiness of humanity at large, and it has not been able to provide a decent standard of living for all, instead it has just greatened the distance between rich and poor and increased the depths of human selfishness.

On the other hand, if we consider civilization as a set of values, knowledge, beliefs or products of a society, it is clear that the present world is really very complex and sometimes incomprehensible to the average citizen who has no idea of the final destination of human development. The modern civilized world looks like an astounding technological façade with no values or spirit behind it, except the materialist motivations. In this context, a growing sense of apathy and bewilderment seizes modern society. We cannot understand why one day we are fortunate and the next we have nothing, while many people grow up having nothing at all, not even hope. The multiple forms of corruption only increase this feeling of astonishment and indignation.

Now that we have all seen this scenario, perhaps it’s time to raise fearlessly a new vision, one where we have the right to judge and reject the “civilized world” for directly undermining the moral essence of man. And yet, the lack of obvious alternative to civilization impedes this change: people can only foresee a return to barbarism if we cast it off. But what could be worse than the barbarisms that we see in our world today? Are we blind to the things that are happening around us as long as we live a comfortable life? Isn’t this just more of the same selfishness and individualism?

The transformation of civilization it’s not about any kind of revolution, but about changing our focus from matter to spirit. Thus, in order to live in harmony with everyone and with our environment, in the mythical realm of the so-called “Golden Age”, we must transform our conscience. The first step in this global shift should be a personal commitment in our public and private behavior to live in alignment with love, dignity, solidarity, decency, honesty, and sincerity. Only then will humanity be on the right path, in a world that will not perhaps require large cities or flashy gadgets, but will give harmony to human communities and spiritual meaning to our lives.

This article was originally featured at GrahamHancock.com forum, an inspiring resource and conversation depot.

Leave the ‘private behaviour to live in alignment with . . . ‘ zinger out of this article and the article would be near perfect. Common sense is that . . . love, dignity, solidarity, decency, honesty, and sincerity . . . vary from private AND consensual communities to others living their own . . . love, dignity, solidarity, decency, honesty, and sincerity . . . standard. If a bunch of people like BDSM or LGBT and cannibalism or limb hacking (Hudud Syariah Islam), perhaps overloud blaring of loudspeaker prayers as well, or any combination of the above (a gay Muslim? A cannibal Nudist?) AND also voluntarily and consciously assent to their *own version* of ‘mainstream love, dignity, solidarity, decency, honesty, and sincerity . . . ‘lifestyle in body mind and spirit and want their own districts or even cities (some nudist colonies already exist), as a civilised society, those of the ‘ ‘mainstream love, dignity, solidarity, decency, honesty, and sincerity . . . ‘lifestyle in body mind and spirit,’ AS PER civilisation and Voltarian mindsets, leave these people alone to their own preference and allow them spaces too.

Christiana Figueres, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is the most senior official and negotiator in the UN climate change treaty system, and comes from a family dynasty steeped in the arts of politics and diplomacy.

Her father, Jose Figueres Ferrer, served three terms as president of the Central American nation of Costa Rica.

Her mother, Karen Olsen Beck, served as Costa Rica’s ambassador to Israel and was later elected a member of her country’s legislative assembly.

Her older brother, Jose Figueres Olsen, is also a past president of Costa Rica and her younger brother, Mariano Figueres Olsen, is currently active in politics.
NM Christian Figueres

The 55-year-old mother of two daughters is married to German-born Konrad von Ritter, a former head of the World Bank’s sustainable development unit.

She speaks Spanish, English and German, and is now based permanently in Bonn, Germany.

Figueres, who will play a key role in the COP17 negotiations in Durban, has worked as a private-sector consultant on carbon trading and has more than a decade of experience in previous climate talks as a member of the Costa Rican climate change negotiating team.

She grew up in Costa Rica in a farming community founded by her father and learned German at the Humboldt Schule.

Figueres later studied in England and the United States, graduating with a degree in anthropology from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in social anthropology from the London School of Economics.

She began her public service career in 1982 as a minister counsellor at the embassy of Costa Rica in Bonn, where she was responsible for negotiating the terms of technical assistance and development finance.

Returning to Costa Rica in 1987, she was appointed director of international co-operation in the Ministry of Planning and helped to negotiate financial and technical agreements with eight European countries.

A year later she became chief of staff to the minister of agriculture, before moving to Washington with her husband, who worked at the World Bank. She re-entered professional life in the mid-1990s, founding the Centre for Sustainable Development of the Americas, a think-tank promoting the participation of Latin American countries in the UN climate change treaty system.

She also helped to prepare several greenhouse gas reduction projects in the energy and industry sectors, and from 2007 to 2009 represented Latin America as vice-president of the Bureau of the UN Climate Convention.

She was also closely involved in the design and promotion of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the carbon-trading offshoot scheme of the Kyoto Protocol, which allows developed nations to “offset” their greenhouse gas emissions in developing nations.

She has served as a member of the CDM executive board, advised several private-sector carbon-trading companies such as C Quest Capital, and was also a board member of Winrock International, which oversees the voluntary American Carbon Registry.

She was appointed to her current position as executive secretary of the UNFCCC early last year, taking over from Yvo de Boer of the Netherlands.

What is her role in the COP17 negotiations?

In a recent press briefing, Figueres described her main function as a facilitator “helping to kick the ball forward” during the Durban talks and to provide support to the host nation in reaching further agreements.

What are some of her expectations for the Durban talks?

“Climate change is possibly the largest challenge humanity has ever faced, but every conference of the parties is only a step in the right direction.

“We have to chart a path as we move forward. This journey has not been mapped before and every country will have to walk down that path together.

“What is needed is scale and speed.

“What we have done until now has been insufficient. It has been slow. Governments know this, but it is not only the responsibility of governments to move forward.

“The private sector needs to step up and provide the inputs they can. So must civil society.”

“Governments are the steering wheel on climate change, but in many instances the private sector is the motor which drives towards the targets.”

What is her own country doing to tackle climate change?

“Costa Rica produces only 0.001 percent of global greenhouse emissions. Yet we have taken on the target of carbon neutrality by 2021. We have taken the decision that it is every country’s moral responsibility to reduce carbon as much as possible.

“But we are not the only one. There is a growing sense that everyone can contribute to the solution, but in a differentiated manner.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Ever so obtusely nepotistic this personae appears to be. Perhaps she may be doing good work and her father was a truly utopian man on the ‘remove military’ issue, but Christiana should know that if this very post she is working at is due in any part to association, the right thing to do would be to leave after 2 terms equivalent VOLUNTARILY. UN salaries are princely sums and in as early as 2 terms anyone holding such posts could retire AND RIGHTLY SHOULD as there are many who could do with the experience with the opportunity to participate (we do not need UN Oligarchs holding posts like careerists, while so many equally qualified need both the job and the money for 2 terms). The ethical and moral thing should be clear for one with such a high minded policy background as Christiana’s.

This is as much everyone else’s world as Christiana’s to administer via the UN (and those plush jobs with perhaps overfat salaries) and by this very egalitarian and utopian thinking that would remove an entire military, 1 term per top level national academic/bureaucrat from aan appropriate portfolio, should be well and fine enough for anyone. The last thing we need is ‘UN Personalities’ preventing everyone else from having that job, more so being progeny of one of the world’s presidents even ministers. There is nothing worse than this form of ‘indirect nepotism’. Let there be a succcession of 1 term administrators at 1 four year term each and in 40 years and only 10 people would have had an opportunity to participate at the UN. Is this democratic? A BUREAUCRAT JUNTA forms at the UN, and Christiana cannot want to be representative of a Junta of any sort now can she? Christiana what say you?

Every citizen can militarise without a single cent spent with 2nd Amendment Rights and a healthy gun culture. Who needs to pay for a military? As for drills and discipline, that can be a weekend or evening hobby thing. But to take funds from taxpayers without their assent and via force of a mob minded politicians? Undemocratic! Save the cash and liberalise and dignify fellow citizens by allowing them the right to own weapons or opt outs and abstention from what would be forced conscriptions (bully and junta culture if anything), also only freemen carried weapons, the rest who did not were SERFS.

ARTICLE 5

Chinese Netizen Speaks Out: “China Spending As Much on Calming Civil Unrest As US on War Effort” – Sep 28, 2012 by Philip Kendall

Even putting current tensions between the country and Japan aside for the moment, China has seen a great deal of civil unrest in recent months. With citizens losing faith in their government, and the gap between the poor and the wealthy seemingly growing ever larger, it is little wonder that protests and riots are occurring more and more frequently.

At the end of June, pictures emerged of clashes between residents and armed police in the Canton region. It later become clear that the riot occurred following little more than a scuffle between two boys from neighbouring towns that got out of hand. Angry that men from the first boy’s town had entered into the argument, adults from the second boy’s town also became involved, and the spat quickly grew out of hand with thousands of locals eventually becoming involved in the fray.

During last week’s incredibly heated anti-Japanese demonstrations in China, images came forth of Chinese attacking and looting stores that bore no relation to Japan whatsoever. Of course, there’s a lot that can be said about the effects of mob mentality, and it’s easy for people, especially those who feel that they have been dealt an injustice by those in power and the wealthy, to become swept up in the mayhem.

As some of you may recall, in perhaps one of the country’s lowest moments, England saw three days of riots and mob violence in several major cities during the summer of 2011. What initially began as a protest in response to the shooting by police of a young man in London soon became violent, and within a matter of hours the streets were lost to thugs and petty criminals who mugged, robbed and smashed whatever and whomever they met.

When asked what their motivation was for such acts of senseless violence, many, particularly from poorer areas of the country, attempted to justify their behaviour by arguing that they received little-to-no support from the authorities, and that the areas in which they lived were run-down and often entirely forgotten by the government. Few would agree that reasons such as these justify their behaviour, but civil unrest, it would seem, is not an issue that China alone is facing.

China, however, is notoriously protective of its information, making it difficult for those of us outside the country to grasp the state or scale of the situation behind the great firewall beyond drip-fed images of protests and clashes.

So on September 19, when a Chinese internet user posted a message revealing the severity of the situation and posting some shocking figures relating to the Chinese government’s recent expenditure, it understandably made headlines.

“At this moment in time, the Chinese government is thought to be spending approximately eighty billion US dollars per year on issues of civil unrest and calming outbursts of this kind.”

The figure, although obviously huge, is difficult to visualise until the unnamed internet user presents us with an utterly mind-boggling comparison:

“If this level of spending continues, in five years China will have spent as much on dealing with its own civil unrest and local security as the US on its recent war budget.”

Shocking isn’t the word…

‘Love you long time . . . ‘ fading possibility if USA burns out in the Middle East . . . Don’t blame China then! Twas the Muslet!

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

8 billion USD? Thats 24 billion Yuan. So that means the PRC from a propaganda/citizen appeasement fund alone, could make 24,000 millionaires yearly by direct distribution or make 48,000 ‘retire capable’ families yearly for an average of 100 to 200 thousand people pulled out of poverty. In 10 years 2 million people would be brought out of poverty directly into wealth or up to 10 million into the lower middle class. China will reach America’s poor suburb standards in 100 years at the current wealth growth rate IF there are no middlemen in the wealth distribution, massive increases in population, or wastage in propaganda expenditure (i.e. printing leaflets, holding meaningless feel good meetings etc..

Incidentally, USA spends 90 billion for education alone. So that means the USA could make 240,000 millionaires yearly by direct distribution instead of putting funds through the middle man bureaucracy – never mind that there are no degree holders in USA – or make 480,000 ‘retire capable’ families yearly for an average of 1 to 2 million people pulled out of poverty. In 10 years 20 million people would be brought out of poverty directly into wealth or up to 100 million into the lower middle class. USA will reach be poor sub-urb standards in 100 years at the current wealth growth rate IF there are no middlemen in the wealth distribution, massive increases in population, or wastage in propaganda expenditure (i.e. printing leaflets, holding meaningless feel good meetings etc.. or wars.

USA is already secure, but military adventurism and labour costs could be still destroy jobs. Suggest that MEDICINE be propagated as a free course so that healthcare will become virtually free and at very least removing compound interest for housing loans with options to complete payments over next generation or instead of foreclosures, having them be required to offer rooms to the civil servants as a form of national service that offsets or cancels debt at in liewu of payment. So think before foreclosing and displace and destroy communities. Thats just a home an education which should not have middleman parasites.

Would one prefer to be a degree holder or a millionaire? Would a citizen prefer ththat the Education-Financiar-Srudent-Debt Complex control society or that there be millionaires of every citizen? The plutocracy has abuses all those who are not millionaires, can only abuse degree holders who are not millionaires but loaded with debt – better a millionaire than a degree holder at compound interest and debt slavery in finaly, at the mercy of employers! The US government can dignify ALL citizens with the nation’s wealth not betray citizens to a a handful of ’employers’ or a handful of Univeersities which churn out degree holders with debt into a society woth no jobs, might as well liquidate the Education-Financiar-Student-Debt Complex and enrich the citizens directly by distribution of land and monies intended for ‘education’.

TOKYO- The shaky global economy needs Japan and China to be fully engaged, the head of the IMF said, warning the world could not afford for the two countries to be distracted by their bitter territorial row.

Speaking to Japanese media ahead of the annual IMF meeting in Tokyo next week, Christine Lagarde said the two economic powerhouses needed to show a bit of neighbourly tolerance for the good of the whole world.

“Both China and Japan are key economic drivers that do not want to be distracted by territorial division,” Kyodo News agency quoted Lagarde as telling reporters in Washington, in an interview published on Wednesday.

“The current status of the economy and the global economy needs both Japan and China fully engaged,” she said.

China and Japan, the world’s second and third largest economies, are at loggerheads over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.

Tokyo administers the chain under the name Senkakus, but they are claimed by Beijing, which calls them the Diaoyus.

Chinese government ships regularly venture into waters around the islands, routinely ignoring orders to leave by Japanese coastguard vessels.

Increasingly vitriolic diplomatic exchanges, including at the United Nations in New York last week, and mass anti-Japanese protests in several Chinese cities have further unsettled the pair’s already fractious relationship.

Japanese firms operating in China were forced to shutter or scale back their operations when mobs attacked factories and shops. Some companies also complained of tightened customs inspections and difficulties obtaining visas for their foreign staff.

Lagarde said neighbouring countries had to display “a certain degree of tolerance” if they were to rub along effectively.

The IMF managing director was speaking ahead of her trip to Japan next week when Tokyo hosts meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, in what will be the world’s largest single gathering of finance officials, bankers and non-government organisations.

Dow Jones Newswires reported late Tuesday several big Chinese banks had cancelled their participation in events connected to the meetings, in what it said was a sign of the bilateral row leaching into the broader, economic realm.

Most of the banks have not given a reason for their last-minute pull-outs but one unnamed person was explicit.

“Quite frankly, it’s Japan-China relations,” Dow Jones quoted an official at the Tokyo branch of the Agricultural Bank of China as saying.

The bank will withdraw from both IMF-related events and another financial industry conference planned in the western Japanese city of Osaka at the end of October.

The global economy has struggled to shrug off the effects of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, slowing growth in China and lingering concerns over the faltering US economic recovery.

Lagarde said European countries “have made huge progress” already on the road to recovery, but “more needs to be done”, according to Kyodo.

She said the “fiscal cliff” in the United States — the anticipated termination of income tax cuts and a massive spending reduction in early 2013 — also poses a threat to the global recovery.

“My dearest objective is that the countries participating in the IMF annual meeting in Tokyo would be prepared to come together, act together and try to go beyond the crisis to sustain the recovery,” she was quoted as saying.

– AFP

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Note that IMF can have a meaningless meeting without China in Osaka, or choose to relocate the meeting to South Korea or some other venue and PERHAPS have China join in. Fiat peddling by IMF btw is meaningless. So this will be a meaningless IMF meeting without any real underwritten nations in attendance. China will only even attend IMF because of the political presence issue. Going to IMF meetings will mean China is going to drop money, and with the unwritten insult by having the IMF meeting in Osaka (US military base there and in Japan – indirect asset to Japan’s illegal territorial claim), China loses out doubly, insulted and has to help IMF bail out nations? No point turning up. IMF caused this boycott by not considering the above.

The hard sell: Stepping into your bank for advice can mean coming up against an old-fashioned sales pitch like those that influenced Death Of A Salesman.

Going to a bank branch for help with an Isa, pension or other investment has traditionally been like plunging into a pool of piranhas.

You could almost sense the commission-hungry salesmen circling, teeth bared, ready to rip into your purse or wallet.

But from January all that should change. At least that’s the plan.
What is happening to financial advice?

New rules will outlaw commission on new sales of financial products and force all financial advisers, whether in a bank branch or independent, to charge separately for advice.

Some banks — including Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC — are so terrified of telling customers how much they have been charging they are pulling out of offering investment advice to ordinary High Street customers.

Advice will still be available in some banks, but only for wealthy individuals. Paying fees for advice will come as a shock to many who have believed advice is free because the charges have been so sneakily hidden.

But it shouldn’t cost you any more overall, so long as the financial industry behaves fairly —which remains to be seen.

More investing and pensions advice

High Street banks are set to change the way in which they offer financial advice

You should be better off

In fact, Money Mail has calculated that even after paying fees you could be hundreds or even thousands of pounds better off in the long run because your investment won’t be being drained by commission taken every year. On a £10,000 investment a bank or financial adviser may take as much as 8? per cent in initial commission, meaning only £9,200 of your money is actually invested.

Raising standards: Financial advisers will be better qualified

More insidious is so-called trail commission. This can be taken from your investment every year, knocking thousands of pounds off your profits in the long run.

From January 1, all financial advisers will have to charge fees instead. For instance, they may levy £350 for advice on an investment Isa or £600 on a pension.

The key thing is that because you are paying the fee, you can feel comfortable the advice is being made in your best interests, rather than to bring them a fat commission cheque.

You will be able to pay the fee by cash, cheque or debit card. Or you could choose to have the money taken from the amount you are investing.

If it is advice on an existing investment, you can even choose to have the money taken from that investment.

This may sound similar to commission, but there is a vital difference: the fee is agreed by you and your financial adviser rather than set by the company that is trying to sell the product.

You are the customer and you will be in control.

How commission eats investments

Commission swipes billions of pounds from our investments every year. Pension and investment companies set commission levels on everything they sell.

In a BBC Radio 4 programme called The Sins Of Commission, which was broadcast in May 2005, Aviva admitted to increasing the commission it paid when it wanted to sell more pensions. It is not alone.

Products such as investment trusts, which have low charges for investors but pay little or no commission, sell far less than investment bonds, which have much higher charges and pay large amounts of commission.

Successive scandals such as mis-selling of pensions, endowments and precipice bonds can all be traced back to commission.
What will financial advice cost?

That’s the million dollar question — and it’s the one banks and building societies planning to give advice in the High Street are as yet refusing to answer.

However, the website Unbiased.co.uk — an organisation that helps consumers find an independent financial adviser in their area — has surveyed its members.

They say you might be charged £350 on average to set up an investment Isa, £600 for advice on setting up a pension and £750 for building a strategy for investing a £25,000 lump sum.

Don’t be scared off by these figures. Remember you’ve been paying for advice all along. It’s just been picked from your pocket in the form of commission and other charges.

Let’s compare how the different charges might affect a £10,000 investment into a stock market Isa if it grew by 6? per cent a year before commission and charges were taken out. Under the current regime, you might typically make £5,219 profit after ten years or £13,645 profit after 20 years.

Under the new regime, without commission you might make £6,288 profit after ten years and £16,532 after 20 years. So you could be almost £3,000 better off after 20 years just because you paid a £350 fee upfront rather than let the adviser take commission.

This, of course, assumes the investment management companies that sell most investment Isas play fair and cut their annual charges to reflect the fact they no longer pass on commission to advisers.

Even if the adviser charged £2 a month for holding your fund you could still be more than £2,000 better off after 20 years.

You could even choose to have the initial advice fee of £350 taken from your investment and just invest £9,650. This would still leave you £500 better off after ten years and £1,600 better off over 20 years because the annual commission would not be taken from your savings.

The key thing with fees is to agree how much you will pay and how you will pay it. You may pay hourly, for a single project, for an ongoing service or an annual review.

Also check up on any extras they may charge, such as travel expenses or postage. And if the fees are similar, there should be no barrier stopping you from choosing to go to an independent adviser rather than using a bank.

Simplifying: Fees for financial advice could become less confusing under the new changes

Traps that mean it isn’t curtains for hidden fees?

Well, no. Think of it as a zombie: walking dead but still preying on you. Commission of any kind will not be allowed on new investments that you buy following advice. It will also not be allowed on any top-ups you make to existing investments following advice.

But you can still be charged trail commission on any lump sum or regular payments that are agreed before December 31, 2012.

So if you are already making a £100-a-month payment to a pension and continue making this, the adviser will continue to receive commission on each new payment.

They’ll also still receive the annual trail commission — typically 0.5? per cent a year on an investment Isa.

So if you have £100,000 in investment Isas, you could still lose £500 a year to commission even if the adviser does nothing.

On some pensions, investment bonds and endowments commission can be far higher.

Some investors will have paid tens of thousands in trail commission without even knowing it.

And banks hope to exploit another loophole. If you top up an existing investment and don’t take advice before doing so, they can also charge commission on that extra money.

For instance, if you are paying £100 a month into a pension and you increase the payment to £150 a month without receiving more advice, the adviser can take commission on the whole lot.

This is crucial for bank customers, because those banks which are no longer giving advice will be able to take commission on top-ups you make to your pension, Isas and other investments. You may therefore do better to buy an entirely new investment rather than top up an existing one.
How advisers will be better qualified

In another radical move, regulators have insisted financial advisers must be better qualified and investors must be given a much clearer idea of the type of advice they are receiving.

This is part of a process known as the retail distribution review. The Financial Services Authority has insisted all advisers must undertake fresh training and exams which are the equivalent to the first year of a degree course. Until now, the basic exams have barely been more than GCSE standard.

The FSA had three key aims. These are to ensure investors:

Are offered a transparent and fair charging system for advice;
Are clear about the service they receive;
Receive advice from highly respected professionals.

There will also be basically four types of advice available from the new year.

These are:

An independent financial adviser who must look at the whole market and all types of investment. Currently, some ignore products such as investment trusts and exchange traded funds that have lower charges or don’t pay commission.
An adviser who is independent in specific areas. These will specialise in one or more types of advice such as pensions, investments or long term care. But within their specialism they will look at every type of product you could use. If you want help in an area outside their specialism they must send you elsewhere.
Restricted advisers who will only offer products from a limited number of companies. For instance, they may only offer investments from one insurer or from half a dozen unit trust companies.
Staff who only carry out the sale. This category is for do-it-yourself investing with no advice at all. However, there may be guides or newsletters giving you ideas for investments and explaining strategy.

When seeking advice you should check what category of adviser you are dealing with and what qualification and experience they have, especially if you need specialist help on issues such as your pension or long-term care.

To find a qualified adviser near you, go to thisismoney.co.uk/adviser.
What do banks and advisers say?

As you can imagine, there has been a lot of whingeing because banning commission will remove a secret and lucrative source of income. Karen Barrett, of Unbiased, takes a more optimistic line.

‘People have always paid for advice but thought it was free because the charges were disguised as commission,’ she says.

‘Now people can choose to pay a fee for a project such as sorting out an inheritance or for a one-off piece of advice such as setting up an Isa or they can pay an annual retainer.’

Surveys have suggested around 10? per cent of independent financial advisers may quit because they do not want to take the new exams or believe people will not pay for their advice.

Others may give up being fully independent and will instead specialise in certain areas such as pensions, general investment or long-term care planning. Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC have pulled out of offering advice to ordinary customers altogether.

RBS has announced 618 redundancies in its financial planning unit and HSBC cut 650 tied advisers.
Barclays had already closed its financial planning arm following the scandal exposed by Money Mail which saw risk-averse customers invested in high-risk investments — and resulted in a £7.7 million fine.

The banks’ exodus has led to concerns there will be an ‘advice gap’ with no one to guide the novice or small investor. But others, such as Nationwide, remain committed to providing advice in the High Street and may well plug at least part of the gap left by the big banks.

The comments below have not been moderated.

Its about time these hidden charges were exposed.. Afterall its only advice with no guarantees..

– steve , sheffield, 03/10/2012 13:36
Rating 2

Given that sellers of financial products have been operating for decades and generating a handsome income from the commission earned, but hidden and paid for by the end user what precisely is the effect of these changes? You now will pay an upfront fee, which can be deducted from the amount that you wish to invest, and the net amount can be invested achieving a better return as the fund will not be paying hidden commission charges to the salesman (sorry financial expert). If IFA are charging £150/hour then it is probably more expensive than getting your car serviced and if your unhappy knowing that you are paying this rate (instead of the ignorance of paying a hidden commission) then you could always do your own research and come up with a sensible investment strategy and keep your fingers crossed as you would with the advice from any IFA!

– Paul F , Leeds, United Kingdom, 03/10/2012 13:32
Rating 3

Seeing a Financial Advisor will become like visiting a Solicitor – expensive, but the advice is generally worth it’s weight. A tough decision with 3 outcomes: 1. the rich get better advice (ie richer); 2 the poor get no advice and will be limited to bank-based cash despoits (ie poorer); and 3. misselling should be avoided (though misselling only becomes a problem when the market falls and everyone sees whose been swimming naked)…

– Mark Howes , Brighton, United Kingdom, 03/10/2012 11:42
Rating 3

I didn’t know they sold Duff products I thought that was something Homer Simpson drunk.

It has never been the salespeople it has always been the products themselves that are badly designed and administered. This does nothing to address the real issue.

– john heppell , Norwich, 03/10/2012 07:36

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

8 percent is an extreme sum. Who are these Shylocks? Con men and confidence tricksters are what these so called ‘advisors’ are. Not a cent or a single drop of blood, much less this 8% pound of flesh. Even if one could afford the insurance or ‘advise fees’. Ridiculous capitalism/corporatism. Heres some advice for the ‘advisors’. Try making and selling real goods and services instead of expecting people to pay for regurgitation of capitalist rubbish from courses and classes that have no bearing or reality. Lets have REAL goods and services. Build real things. A bundle of firewood and some dressed meat for a barbecue has more value than ‘advice’ or scraps of paper.

Who says salesmen die because they cannot sell ‘advice’? Sell useful things and people will still buy. Bottles of milk, bread, flour, butter salt, cloth, small and useful tools, basic sundries perhaps, electronics, artwork, ceramics, furniture etc.. – but don’t expect a single cent for capitalist/red-tape claptrap of the ‘finance’ industry. 8%? Dream on, the bank barely give give interest to depositors more than 1% these days (Russia has 8% interest as of this posting BUT if WW3 breaks out and Russia decided to stop all transactions, say goodbye to your money . . . ).

Selling so-called ‘financial products’ based around non-existent ‘monetised debt’ (which caused the US banking crisis and massive homelessness from foreclosures) or fractionated trading of commodities and precious metals on non-existent REAL goods, while the idiot banking conman, dares takes 8% of principal? No advice is worth 8% of the whole transaction! Even housing agents demand only 1%, the ‘financial product advisor’ doesn’t even do any traveling or legwork like meeting lawyers etc.!

NO WAY. Perhaps 10% of the bank’s current interest rate could be tolerable which means a flat 1% at 10% interest rates for fixed deposit which are virtually impossible to find even as INFLATION is more than 10% most of the time, with GOLD the only thing keeping up with inflation. Theres no such thing as fiat money either. None with any intelligence will miss associating with these finance conmen. Vote properly meanwhile, the banking and finance industry are overgrown parasites, even education has become a parasite system (Student Debt Finaciar Complex), the legal system and enforcement (Prison Contractor-Supplier Crony Complex) yet another. Bad laws lead to bad society, leads to bad citizens.

Banks have failed and have been running at loss for decades WHILE paying gigantic millions level bonuses, to so-called CEOs and Executives (even at loss to the citizens, stockholders of bank stocks), and only are propped by taxmonies citizens stupidly GIVE the corrupted and colluding MPs or Governors in governments who never lower taxes or add VAT and GST on top of EXISTING taxes not to mention Road Tolls or other crony projects! Drop the greed minded conjob low class mentality (though high wealth) cheating bastards among citizens! Boycott ALL banking ‘products’ and the parasite ‘advisors’ who need to produce REAL GOODS or offer REAL SERVICES instead of helping the bank conning the people with ‘so-called ‘banking products’!

Here’s the truth of ‘human’ ‘reality’. There is only land and resources, manufacture and production of real goods, perhaps barter of livestock – and politics or religion at most discursiveness being proof and manner of obtaining stature – NOTHING ELSE – especially false ‘finance’ and false ‘banking’. Barter solves everything, the REAL GOODS and REAL LABOUR market, not a stack of paper that represents nothing, not even commodities pushed by liars and sellouts in suits and ties.

With these ‘financial products’ one may get fiat money (under no guarantee either . . . which on top of that is already destroying the finance system and civilisation), with which one can buy things with and enrich oneself with. But anyone who chooses the expedience of ‘destroying society’s real goods or real labour financial reality ‘a little’ by buying any financial plans at any return of whatever rate, are unethical criminals destroying financial stability which the Finance Ministry of the government in most capitalist countries actually dare allow!

ARTICLE 8

All covered up! Woman arrested for having sex in the back of a Dubai taxi arrives for court hearing in a hijab – by Leon Watson – PUBLISHED: 11:07 GMT, 3 October 2012 | UPDATED: 12:52 GMT, 3 October 2012

Rebecca Blake, 29, is facing a prison sentence after her alleged tryst
She appeared with Irish welder Conor McRedmond at Dubai Criminal Court

The British businesswoman accused of having drunken sex in the back of a Dubai taxi turned up to court today wearing a hijab.

Rebecca Blake, 29, from Dorking, Surrey, was sacked from her £100,000 a year job as a recruitment consultant following the scandal and is facing a prison sentence after her alleged tryst with Irish welder Conor McRedmond.

Both appeared at Dubai Criminal Court today.

Following her arrest, Miss Blake insisted she had only been in the taxi for five minutes before the driver reported her to police – but admitted ‘I’m no saint’ and that she’d drunk so much the whole incident is a ‘blur’.

Rebecca Blake, 29, is accused of having sex in the back of a Dubai taxi with Irish welder Conor McRedmond

She also described her five days of hell in Bur Dubai women’s holding prison, where she was bitten by cockroaches.

Miss Blake told The Sun how the day, on May 4, started at noon with a four-hour-long all-you-can-drink brunch at Dubai’s exclusive Rotana Hotel.

‘It’s all a blur’: £100k-per-year British woman accused of having sex in a Dubai taxi reveals she went on a 10 hour drinking marathon before arrest
Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood MP sparks fury by asking female journalist if her questions would be ‘as hot as she is’

She told the newspaper: ‘There’s constant alcohol – your drink won’t even be half gone before you get given a new one. I was table hopping, drinking white wine and just generally having a great time.

‘I don’t know how much I had, they just kept filling up the glass. I like to party and I like to drink. I’m a single girl with a good job and I am no saint.

‘It had been a great day – I was dancing and drinking from 12 noon till gone 10 at night.

Minutes later they were spotted in a passionate embrace by the driver in his rear view mirror, according to police reports.

Rebecca Blake, 29, and Conor McRedmond were arrested after an all-day drinking binge

Incensed by their behaviour, the driver stopped and complained to police in a patrol car parked nearby.

When he returned with an officer, they allegedly saw Miss Blake having sex on the back seat of the cab with Mr McRedmond.

Miss Blake refused to discuss what went on in the taxi, but admitted the events are a blur.

She said: ‘We were only in the taxi for five minutes before the driver pulled over. I can’t speak about anything in the cab for legal reasons. But I didn’t know what was going on. It is all a blur and I don’t really remember how it all came about.’

The pair were held for five days and accused of having sex outside marriage and being drunk in a public place – both criminal offences in the strict Islamic state.

Miss Blake described her time behind bars as ‘hell’ and revealed she suffered a panic attack after waking up to find cockroach bites on her face.

She’s currently free on bond, but faces up to three years in jail if convicted – and is terrified of the prospect of going back to prison.

She said: ‘Looking back I literally went from having fun dancing in the sun to an underground dungeon hell in a matter of hours. I must have dozed off a little bit (in her cell) because when I woke up I had a cockroach bite on my face.

‘It was vile – the worst nightmare you could possibly imagine. I had a panic attack and thought, “s***, I am in prison.” I was literally terrified.

‘I am preparing myself for going back to prison and I really don’t know how to cope with it. I don’t know if I will. It could finish me if I have to go back inside that hell-hole.’

Mr McRedmond, who is thought to work for an engineering firm, also denies the charges.

Those convicted of having sex outside marriage face a sentence of between one month and three years under Dubai law.

Strict Islamic state: Those convicted of having sex outside marriage face a sentence of between one month and three years under Dubai law.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Spoilsport snob/fundo driver/society. Maybe the cabbies should have signs on the taxi that say if they allow or disallow sex in their taxi. Being drunk is a form of ‘temporary insanity’ though harmless actions like sex in a taxi should be overlooked, or issued with warnings especially in foreign countries. Punishment for repeat offenses could be justifiable, but even then not excessive.

The driver of this supercar would probably rather be ragging it around a racetrack or attracting admiring glances while cruising down some of London’s most glamorous streets.

But this fluorescent orange Ferrari won’t be going very far at all for the time being – although it still may demand some attention.

The £200,000 vehicle, which has a top speed of 208mph and can go from 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds, is being used to highlight a major campaign by police to target uninsured motorists.

Seized: The £200,000 Ferrari FF is on display outside New Scotland Yard as part of a campaign to clamp down on uninsured drivers

The 28-year-old owner of the FF model has not yet claimed the car back after it was seized in South Kensington.

The car, which has been placed alongside an £18,000 Mercedes belonging to a disqualified driver, has the phrase ‘uninsured vehicle seized by police’ plastered on its windscreen.

The display comes on the 11th day of action in the campaign – dubbed Operation Cubo – which has so far seized a total of nearly 37,000 uninsured vehicles since it began in October last year.

By this afternoon, a total of 300 vehicles were seized and 30 arrests made for various offences including driving while disqualified, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of class A drugs.

Captured: The Ferrari has been placed next to a £18,000 Mercedes which belongs to a disqualified driver

Clampdown: The two cars are on display outside New Scotland Yard as part of Operation Cubo, a major campaign to target uninsured motorists

While the cars are on display outside New Scotland Yard, a number of seized vehicles will also be on show in prominent positions around London as part of the campaign.

For all to see: Seized vehicles will be on show in prominent positions around the capital while the supercars are displayed to passers-by

During the ten Operation Cubo days held so far, more than 750 people have been arrested for a variety of offences including rape, possession of illegal firearms, money laundering and drugs.

Firearms, other weapons and large quantities of cash and drugs have also been recovered.

Commander Stephen Watson, who is leading the operation, said: ‘Operation Cubo has achieved some outstanding results and we expect another large haul of vehicle seizures today, and more importantly a number of arrests – including arrests for some very serious offences.

‘We are targeting criminals by denying them the use of the roads so it’s much harder for them to commit crime.

‘The overwhelming majority of people who don’t insure their cars are also habitual criminals.

‘We’re also helping to make London’s roads safer as uninsured drivers are more likely to have collisions and less likely to have road-worthy vehicles.

‘By displaying seized vehicles across London, we are sending a strong message to people who choose to drive without insurance that we will seize and possibly sell or crush your vehicle.’

‘Nearly 37,000 vehicles have now been seized since we began our initiative and hundreds of criminals arrested.

‘Cubo uses highly visible, but effective tactics that capture criminals in the act and deter their offending, while reclaiming London’s roads for responsible and law-abiding drivers.’

Crime: During the ten Operation Cubo days held so far, more than 750 people have been arrested for a variety of offences.

Commentator Comments :

YOU CAN INSURE YOUR ‘CAR FOR ANY DRIVER’ Why the hell are people going on about this..?!?!?!!? – paulus…, staffordshire, 3/10/2012 14:10 Nonsense! Young drivers cannot get “any driver” cover nor can those who own high performance cars are 2 examples I can think of off the top of my head.

– Paul , Swansea, 03/10/2012 14:39
Rating (0)

Insurance companies invented small print, there are more exclusions than inclusions in a policy. An insurance company, when they have a claim against their insurance, will first look at ALL avenues to get out of that claim, if that isn’t possible, they might pay! Not something new, that’s how they have always operated and will continue to operate.

– Wild Bill , Thailand, 03/10/2012 14:29
Rating 2

There is nothing pleasurable about driving anymore now. The tax on fuel is a joke, if you are in certain stereotypes, like under 25, you are lawfully discriminated against by insurers, whether you are a safe and able driver or not. There are too many cars and not enough road and people rushing around, others driving at dangerously slow speeds and those that don’t have the skill or interest and shouldn’t have been given a licence. All you can do is watch out and try and protect yourself.

– DAN , Gateshead, 03/10/2012 14:25
Rating 1

I suspect another 2 million drive DELIBERATELY without insurance due to the escalating costs and the fines for being caught being less than the insurance!

– Dave , Oban, 03/10/2012 14:23
Rating 6

– paulus… , staffordshire, 03/10/2012 14:06 ——————————- You are spot on. ————– Also, people should always check their ‘personal injury’ coverage terms, because some shady insurance companies will have a clause that exempts them if the accident was your fault. ——————— Another nice little tip is to check and see if your insurance extends to rental cars. Often rental car companies try to sell you very expensive insurance policies, but your own personal insurance may cover you in rental cars as well, which means you do not need to pay for the rental companies insurance. ————————– It’s always nice to know what you are covered for before the issue comes up, and what you’re not covered for in case you want to change that.

YOU CAN INSURE YOUR ‘CAR FOR ANY DRIVER’ Why the hell are people going on about this..?!?!?!!?

– paulus… , staffordshire, 03/10/2012 14:10
Rating 4

I used to work in car insurance claims and a lot of people seem to think that comp cover allows them to drive any car. sheesh, read your policy.

– lara , pontypridd, United Kingdom, 03/10/2012 14:07
Rating 1

It never ceases to amaze me how little most people actually know about at insurance. Myths seem more prevalent than facts..! Firstly, insurance isn’t mainly covering your car, you’re asking the company to insure everyone else’s car, property and personal safety against what YOU might do to it. Comprehensive insurance also covers damage to your car in some circumstances. The ‘driving other cars’ extension has never been automatic and had absolutely nothing to do with whether you have a comprehensive policy or not. This is just an old wives tale. You can have this extension to drive other cars with or without comp insurance, and you can have comp insurance with or without the ‘driving other cars’ extension. It’s about time people started actually reading their policy and certificate to understand what they have bought rather than relying on the myths and old wives takes about car insurance. I do accept however that the language should be clearer in policy documents.

– paulus… , staffordshire, 03/10/2012 14:06
Rating 2

The ‘driving other cars’ extension has NEVER been automatic and has absolutely nothing to do with whether you have comprehensive insurance or not. This is about stupid people believing old wives tales about insurance rather than confirming the facts.

– paulus… , staffordshire, 03/10/2012 13:53
Rating 7

Used to be the case that this was automatic. Now its another money making scam by the insurance companies. – Bobk, Aldershot, 3/10/2012 7:17 It usually is automatic, on Comprehensive policies. It’s never been automatic on Third Party Fire & Theft. Lauren’s case here doesn’t look right though – she would never be insured TPFT on her mother’s Comp policy. She would normally be covered to drive her mum’s car with TPFT cover on her own Comprehensive insurance. Because of her age she may have been TPFT insured on her own car meaning she wouldn’t normally have Driving Other Cars automatically included. It’s not really insurance companies scamming anybody – it’s a nationwide lack of understanding which insurance companies need to do more to address (in my opinion).

– Alan , Bradford, 03/10/2012 13:53

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Again I say, GET YOUR MPS TO ABOLISH PENALTIES FOR LACK OF INSURANCE! Or include opt outs for insurance. Many careful drivers DO NOT need insurance, if accidents occur for the careless, the offending driver can be penalised, but the careful uninsured driver should not be penalised for not having insurance. Larger penalties applied after accidents are meaningful BUT to penalise for merely not having insurance is unreasonable. Who writes these abusive laws? Who refuses to amend these abusive laws? If lots of people somehow feel they have to pay an insurance company (most likely crony colluder/proxy), does that mean that all those who do not want to pay insurance are forced to pay as well under threat of fines and imprisonment? This is uncivilised and undemocratic.

As a Catholic who works in the trade association profession in the auto industry it was unsettling to hear President Obama claim that he saved the auto industry. President Obama closed over 2,200 auto dealerships, which caused the losses of decades old family-owned businesses and over 120,000 jobs they provided. The closures were allowed to happen under the false notion that auto dealerships were an expense on their auto maker. The President ignored the fact that auto dealers are not an expense to automakers. Auto makers own none of what you see at auto dealerships. Auto dealers own all their property; the cars and trucks, parts, buildings, land, signs, everything. The dealerships pay their employee’s salaries and millions of dollars in taxes to state and local governments. The manufacturer has nothing to do with any of these things.

Facts:

President Obama purposefully and unjustly took away 2,200 self-sufficient, family owned businesses under the false premise that they were an expense on their auto manufacturer. He deliberately put these people in debt with no way to recover. Auto dealers still cannot sell their closed properties.
President Obama’s decision to close dealerships cost 120,000 persons their jobs and livelihood.
The President’s action defrauded auto dealers of their property rights and their employees of their wages.

The President’s actions against auto dealers violated the Catholic social teaching principles of social justice and the common good by removing owners rights to their property and defrauding workers of their wages. His actions (he calls it “shared sacrifice”) were an example of collectivism, centralized planning and socialism. All of these ideas are rejected by America and all are rejected by Catholic teaching in regard to the commandment, “thou shall not steal.”

Many people have forgotten what damage President Obama did to the auto industry and the auto dealer and their employees. Please remind them.

Peter L. Hodges Sr.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Heres a Spiritual Theory on Vehicles/Machines/Electronic Devices and Anime :

Christians are ALL involved in abuse of the ‘Nature Spirits’ within mankind. A car dealer deals in sequestration and slavery of ‘machine spirits’ of which some may be bonded with LIVING organic being spirits. Obama is aware of the esoteric level of things here, Hodges is either ignorant or fronting for more Catholic abuse of non-human spirits that do not know the difference between humans and machines. Granted binding of organic souls to machines is a skill, but a skill unnatural and abusive of beings that can evolve and ‘grow up’ keeping them in a state of spiritual stagnancy, enslaved to the coarse matter, in this case CARS. By breaking these businesses Obama is FREEING spirits that will evolve and one day look back on mankind with a more forgiving eye. Those who disparage these actions, are not on the correct spiritual page like so many pedophile priests that Christianity hides in the same way machines bind the souls of chidren who are sexually abused.

I doubt this will get to be featured among thesii for Occult works, but here goes. ANY car company that uses an anime character’s name is intentionally doing that and in an unethical and morally/spiritually illegal manner. any anime company that does not challenge the use of that character’s name used in a car model is colluding to sequester the ‘fapper’s’ SPIRITUAL energy. There are physical laws protecting PHYSICAL property and now if SPIRITUAL LAWS are to be considered to protect INTANGIBLE SPIRITUAL ENERGY as well, the car companies and anime companies need to compensate ANY person who masturbated to any anime character which has NLP or name links. The so-called ‘fap-material’ is to steal souls from people who masturbate if anything, and that is why Christianity does not allow abortions or masturbation (preferably).

The anime character has a life in the ether the instance they are electronically depicted on television/internet (or scanned) and the ‘fapability’ is in fact the astral/ethereal form being formed/summoned for sexual gratification. This is also how relationships can and do break up because of the weaker mindeds’ obsessions with anime or less obviously, real porn stars who’s presence is increasingly blurred as technologically the difference between real and manufactured become indistinguishable and distinct.

So when buying a car, or fapping to anime, make sure the anime company in question has not colluded with a car company via naming similarity, that could steal your sexual pleasure. This is also why depiction of idols is forbidden in Islam and why hermitages or isolation cells are used by spiritualists. To protect the unwary or the weak minded as well as formulate spiritual theories such as this. That sexual energy is the energy of life and one ends up in the astral or ether – the more one faps, though if the spirit police (your ethical religious orders or religions) if sufficiently numerous AND ethical to ensure astral or ethereal energies lost are returned equitably as other beings die, the above issues can be ignored to an extent. This is also the attraction of castration of animals (neutered animals are cruelly tied to owners for the owner’s sexual pleasure in some cases – particularly vigorous sexual sessions do result in animal deaths), mass murder, torture and the desire of ‘demons’ and ‘succubi’ (real or ethereal) to cause the above as well as people whp have pets or deal with animals are ‘sexy’. They’re disgusting parasites off the neutered beasts for mere pleasure that do not have the capacity for! This is also why harems are important among the upper classes who can affo\rd the luxury, this is also why some children leave formerly close knit familes and never go back or avoid going back, as well as the basis of incest.

To avoid all of the above, live in a low density place (an acre per family is minimal, forget about high rises or even rabbit hutch terraces or ‘duplexes’ or high density bungalows) that do not have animals, and ‘fap out’ the animals or unwanted/unwilling persons somehow caught in your sexual field and make sure anime characters do not share names with any vehicle models or machines or even brand name perfumes etc.. Return to the weather system ‘Sylphy‘ . . . the word Sylph or any permutation is RESERVED as much as Undine or any other mythical beast or personality. ‘Apollo’ angers the ether for certain (guess why those astronauts had to die), so please make up a new name and avoid accidental NLPs in other languages if possible.

In a special four-minute comment that aired during this morning’s news broadcast on La Crosse, Wisconsin’s CBS affiliate WKBT, news anchor/reporter Jennifer Livingston responded to a viewer who wrote in to the station to chide Livingston for not providing “a suitable example for this community’s young people, girls in particular,” by appearing on television despite being overweight.

The letter had already gone viral thanks to Livingston’s husband, 6 and 10 anchor Mike Thompson, who posted it on his Facebook page, calling it “infuriating” and “sick.”

“The truth is, I am overweight,” Livingston acknowledged. “You can call me fat – and yes, even obese on a doctor’s chart. But to the person who wrote me that letter, do you think I don’t know that? That your cruel words are pointing out something that I don’t see?”

She continued:

You don’t know me. You are not a friend of mine. You are not a part of my family, and you have admitted you don’t watch this show. You know nothing about me but what you see on the outside, and I am much more than a number on a scale.

Proving that she was most certainly “a suitable example for this community’s young people,” and “girls in particular,” Livingston concluded her necessary rant with an appeal to bullied children everywhere.

To all of the children out there who feel lost, who are struggling with your weight, with the color of your skin, your sexual preference, your disability, even the acne on your face, listen to me right now. Do not let your self-worth be defined by bullies. Learn from my experience – that the cruel words of one are nothing compared to the shouts of many.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Only frumps and uglies or aging set types, will be taken seriously for serious news. A 911 Twin towers would be almost farcical if done by a slim or bimbo type. Fluff news or at very most weather however, this news anchor is indeed too fat. Talk about above waist issues, bring on the fatties, the chunkier the balder the uglier the better. One cant concentrate on serious issues, looking at beautiful people, too busy admiring.

So here we have yet another case of showing us who is in control over our rights to food.

Some of you may remember when I posted a thread on a woman in the US who had the city actually rip out her edible plants only to leave her with nothing and a couple in Canada who were threatened with the same action, only they fought City Hall and won.

Now we have Toronto playing food cops and removing an entire Community garden with no chance even to harvest.

toronto.mediacoop.ca…

Amid a growing food crisis, this morning workers from the City of Toronto were ordered by City of Toronto Parks Director Richard Ubbens that all live plants and food be removed from the People’s Peas Garden in Queens Park. They were ordered to take the plants and food to the dump and lay sod overtop of this most beautiful free community food garden, without warning, without a chance to remove the rare heirloom plant species or harvest the food.

Growing for 5 Months and having hundreds of volunteers and only NOW it’s destroyed? And right before the harvest the day before. Pathetic.

The City actually let it flourish and planned the day down to the eve of harvest to send some sort of message…whatever the hell that is.

The garden was planted by Occupy Gardens and allies on May 1st, in defense of local and global food security. While the garden has been growing undisturbed for nearly 5 months, with the help of hundreds in the community, the city deliberately decided to have it removed upon the eve of the Autumn Jam: A Harvest Party and celebration of sharing, community and free local food, which is happening tomorrow from 12-6pm at the garden in Queens Park (northwest section).

And the reasoning behind it all:

The reason? The people did not have permission to grow free food on public land.

If that’s the case (which I see as absolutely ridiculous because it’s in almost every city) why let it grow for 5 Months and rip it out the day before harvest? Agenda in the making.
Community gardens are beautiful, beneficial and act as a neighborhood gathering place of sharing with friends. What does a City gain by doing something that makes people angry and upset? Depriving people of good, healthy food when many can’t afford it is nothing but a declaration of power. They have it and the citizens don’t.

This makes me angry…again. Our food supplies are under attack and we are being told in many forms that we are losing our rights to produce what we want to eat. From Monsanto trying to control every seed on the planet to a front yard garden and now a Community garden.

I don’t mind saying that this is getting scary and it won’t be long before people are standing guard over their gardens with guns at the ready. I never thought I’d see days like this.

I know some members will come along and state that they have no right to grow food on public land. BS. Those people ARE the public…hundreds of them in fact. They pay taxes and kept a plot of land beautiful for the rest of the public.

Peace

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The city of Toronto does not just belong to the Council workers. The city of Toronto belongs to ALL residents of Toronto. Vote for an MP who will amend the laws to disallow this sort of harvest destroying behaviour.

B35 Bridge to PinangDecember 4th parliamentary elections in Russia were marked by outside interference by US-based NGO’s. Nearly 50,000 Muscovites – most members of the Communist Party – protested the fraudulent results in Bolotnaya Square near the Kremlin.

Despite the National Endowment for Democracy/Freedom House-funded ruse, the Communist Party still picked up the most seats. These results, along with Putin’s sending of an aircraft carrier to Syria and Russia’s Ambassador being kicked out of Qatar, indicate a Russia moving in a leftward direction.

This makes the Illuminati banksters very nervous.

Last week Mikhail Dmitrievitch Prokhorov announced that he would run for President in 2012. Prokhorov owns the New Jersey Nets basketball team and is worth $18 billion. He is the 3rd richest man in Russia and the 32nd richest man in the world.

Prokhorov is likely a Mikail Khodorkovsky-protégé front-man for the international bankers. He will play the same role that Croat billionaire Milan Panic filled when he ran for President of Yugoslavia in 1992. Panic lost to Slobodan Milosevic, whose country was shortly thereafter torn asunder by the banksters. Milosevic was later poisoned in the Hague after he embarrassed prosecutors via his vigorous defense.

If Prokohorov loses, will the banksters resort to violence against the Russian state?

It certainly wouldn’t be the first time the Illuminati has targeted resource-rich Russia.

Unholy Alliance

While the international banking syndicates had always dealt with the Soviet Union, access to its vast oil resources remained limited. Ronald Reagan entered the White House in 1980 determined to splinter the Soviet Union into little pieces and open the country’s oilfields to the Four Horsemen. His point man in doing so was CIA Director Bill Casey, whose Roman Catholic Knights of Malta connections were thoroughly exploited.

The Vatican’s secretive Opus Dei “saintly Mafia” was behind the ascent of Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla to the Papacy. Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II and launched an Opus Dei/Vatican offensive to roll back Latin American liberation theology movements and East European communism. Fascism came naturally to Karol Wojtyla. During the 1940’s he was a chemical salesman for Nazi combine I. G. Farben. Wojtyla sold the Nazis the cyanide they used at their Auschwitz death camps. One of his best friends was Dr. Wolf Szmuness, mastermind of the 1978 Center for Disease Control Hepatitis B study in the US, through which the AIDS virus was introduced into the gay population. [722]

In 1982 Reagan met with Pope John Paul II. Prior to the meeting Reagan signed NSD-32, authorizing a wide range of economic, diplomatic and covert activities to “neutralize the USSR’s hold on Eastern Europe”. At the meeting the two agreed to launch a clandestine program to tear Eastern Europe away from the Soviets. Poland, the Pope’s country of origin, would be the key. Catholic priests, the AFL-CIO, the National Endowment for Democracy, the Vatican Bank and CIA would all be deployed.

The Vatican is the world’s largest owner of equities, using Swiss affiliate Banco di Roma per la Svizzera to conduct its more discretionary business. Italian fascist Benito Mussolini gave the Vatican generous tax exemptions which it still enjoys. Banco Ambrosiano’s P-2 leader Robert Calvi’s Grand Oriente Freemason’s supported reconciliation with the Vatican. Relations between the Vatican and the Freemasons were strained in the 11th century when the Greek Orthodox split from the Roman Catholics. Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaler of St. John factions emerged. The latter was the Catholic faction. They changed their name to the Knights of Malta, after the island where they found refuge after their Crusades defeat, with help from the Vatican. Malta is a nexus of CIA/MI6/Mossad intrigues.

In the 13th century Pope Clement V, backed by France’s King Philip, charged the Protestant Knights Templars with heresy, citing their penchant for drug running, arms peddling, gambling and prostitution rings. These activities are what made the Templars “filthy rich”. Pope Clement made an example of Templar leader Jaques de Molay, whom he burned at the stake on Friday the 13th. [723] The Templars took their loot and fled to Scotland to found Scottish Rite Freemasonry. They bankrolled the House of Windsor, which controls Britain and presides at the apex of Freemasonry around the world. Masonic Lodge members enroll their children in the de Molay Society, which is named in honor of the toasted Templar pirate.

Calvi’s attempt to reconcile protestant and Catholic secret societies was a success. He became paymaster to the Polish Solidarity movement, while Nixon Treasury Secretary David Kennedy’s dirty Continental Illinois Bank served as conduit for CIA funds sent by Bank of Cicero asset Bishop Paul Marcinkus to fund Solidarity. [724] The Vatican teamed up with Europe’s Black Nobility, the Bilderbergers and CIA to launch the top-secret JASON Society and armed South American dictators to quash liberation theology. In 1978 when Pope John Paul II took power, the Vatican issued a commemorative stamp featuring an Egyptian pyramid and the Roshaniya all-seeing eye. [725] The Vatican and the Illuminati Brotherhood were reunited.

Reagan’s meetings with Pope John Paul II were an affirmation of this powerful new alliance, which would now focus on bringing the Soviet Union to its knees. Even before Reagan met with the Pope the CIA had groomed an informant at the Polish Ministry of Defense- Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski. Kuklinski reported to the Vatican and helped organize the Polish Solidarity Movement, led by the wealthy Radziwill family who had funded JFK assassins via Permindex. Most Solidarity leaders were old-money aristocrats.

The precursor to Solidarity was the National Alliance of Solidarists, a Russian/Eastern European fascist hit squad funded by RD/Shell’s Sir Henry Deterding and German Vickers Arms Corporation President Sir Basil Zacharoff. Sir Auckland Geddes of Rio Tinto Zinc, which bankrolled Francisco Franco’s fascist coup in Spain, also contributed to the Solidarists. Geddes’ nephew- Ford Irvine Geddes- was chairman of the Inchcape’s Peninsular & Orient Navigation Company from 1971-1972. [726]

The Solidarist’s US headquarters was the Tolstoy Foundation, which is housed in the same building as Julius Klein Associates, which ran guns to the murderous Haganah and Stern Gang Zionist death squads who stole Palestinian lands to found Israel. Klein was an M16 Permindex insider who helped plan the JFK hit.

The Solidarists stepchild, the Solidarity Movement, was touted in the Western media as a great Polish liberating force. With boatloads of CIA help, Solidarity toppled the Communist government in Warsaw. Their straw man Lech Walesa became President of Poland. In 1995 Walesa was defeated by former Communist leader Aleksander Kwasniewski. Walesa was rewarded for his boot licking with a job at Pepsico.

CIA Director Casey demanded a constant focus on Eastern Europe at CIA. Casey met often with Philadelphia Roman Catholic Cardinal John Krol to discuss the Solidarity Movement. He utilized his Knights of Malta connections, leaning heavily on Brother Vernon Walters, whose spook resume read like a James Bond novel. Walter’s latest incarnation was Reagan Ambassador at Large to Vatican Secretary of State Agostino Cardinal Casaroli. [727] By 1991 Walters was US Ambassador to the UN, where he successfully beat the drums of war against Iraq. He was in Fiji that same year, just prior to the overthrow of that left-leaning government.

Other Knights of Malta members involved in the Eastern European destabilization effort were Reagan NSA and Robert Vesco lieutenant Richard Allen, Reagan NSA Judge William Clark, Reagan Ambassador to the Vatican William Wilson and Zbigniew Brzezinski. Other prominent Knights of Malta members include Prescott Bush, Nixon Treasury Secretary William Simon, Nixon coup-plotter Alexander Haig, contra supporter J. Peter Grace and Venezuelan Rockefeller lieutenant Gustavo Cisneros.

The Reagan team had a five-part strategy in its efforts to destroy the Soviet Union. First, it would pursue the JASON Society’s Star Wars concept in an attempt to engage the Soviets in a space-based arms race which they knew Moscow could not afford. Second, the CIA would launch covert operations in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary in attempts to overthrow those Soviet-allied governments. While Walesa emerged in Poland, poet Vaclev Havel became CIA white knight in Czechoslovakia. Like Walesa, Havel became unpopular and was soon tossed out of his puppet presidency.

A component of the CIA destabilization program was to buy weapons from these East European nations to arm CIA-sponsored rebels in Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Angola and Mozambique, using BCCI and later BNL as conduits. The US also wanted to get their hands on the high-tech Soviet arsenal. Poland secretly sold the US an array of advanced Soviet weaponry worth $200 million. Romania did the same. Both countries saw their foreign debts reduced significantly. [728]

The third component of the Reagan strategy was to make financial aid to the Warsaw Pact contingent on economic privatization. Fourth, the US would blanket East European and Soviet airwaves with pro-Western propaganda, using fronts like Radio Liberty, Radio Free Europe and the Voice of America. The CIA financed local newspapers and magazines.

The Company got help inside the Soviet Union from its Mossad buddies in an effort spearheaded by media mogul and Mossad paymaster Robert Maxwell. When Maxwell threatened to reveal a meeting between KGB head Vladimir Kryuchkov and Mossad brass aboard his private yacht at which a coup against Mikhail Gorbachev was discussed, Mossad ordered a hit on Maxwell. On November 4, 1991 as he sailed around the Canary Islands Maxwell was assassinated by Israeli commandos. The mass exodus of Russian Jews to Israeli-occupied settlements in Palestine was part of the secret deal between Mossad and Kryuchkov, who is still serving time in a Moscow prison for his treasonous role in the Gorbachev coup. [729]

But it was the fifth and final component of Reagan’s strategy that had the Four Horsemen salivating. Reagan’s spooks initiated an economic warfare campaign against the Soviet Union, which included a freeze on technology transfers, counterfeiting of the Russian ruble and the sponsoring of separatist Islamist groups in the Soviet Central Asian Caucasus. The jihadis who were instructed to target a key transcontinental natural gas pipeline which the Soviets were building. The Soviets had more natural gas than any country on earth and saw the completion of this pipeline as their cash cow for the 21st century. [730] Big Oil wanted to milk that cow.

It’s the Oil, Stupid

When the Soviet Union’s last President Mikhail Gorbachev announced his perestroika and glasnost campaigns to privatize his country’s economy, he was aiding the Illuminati in destroying his country. Was Gorbachev duped, an unwitting accomplice, a CIA deep-cover agent or a mind-controlled Operation Presidio Temple of Set victim? Whatever the case, he played a key role in dismantling the Soviet Union.

The Soviets controlled not only the vast resources of their own nation, but Third World resources in Soviet-allied Comecon nations. Part of perestroika was to cease Soviet aid to these developing nations to ease the growing Soviet debt burden which, like the US debt, accrued largely from decades of Cold War military spending. The two superpowers’ debt was held by the same international banks, which now used this debt lever to pick a winner and to open Russian and Third World resource pools to their corporate tentacles. [731]

When the Berlin Wall fell and Gorbachev was overthrown in favor of IMF crony Boris Yeltsin, the Four Horsemen rushed to Moscow to begin making oil deals. Oil and natural gas had always been the Soviet’s main export and it remained so for the new Russia. In 1991, the country earned $13 billion in hard currency from oil exports. In 1992 Yeltsin announced that Russia’s world leading 9.2 billion barrel/day oil sector would be privatized.

Sixty percent of Russia’s Siberian reserves had never been tapped. [732] In 1993 the World Bank announced a $610 billion loan to modernize Russia’s oil industry- by far the largest loan in the bank’s history. World Bank subsidiary International Finance Corporation bought stock in several Russian oil companies and made an additional loan to the Bronfman’s Conoco for its purchase of Siberian Polar Lights Company. [733]

The main vehicle for international banker control over Russian oil was Lukoil, initially 20%-owned by BP Amoco and Credit Suisse First Boston, where Clinton Yugoslav envoy and Dayton Peace Accords architect Richard Holbrooke worked. Bush Sr. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, who orchestrated the BNL cover-up, was now CS First Boston’s Chief Financial Officer. A handful of Zionist Russian oligarchs, collectively known as the Russian Mafia, owned the rest of Lukoil, which served as the Saudi ARAMCO of Russia for the Four Horsemen, a partner to Big Oil in projects throughout the country which involved truly staggering amounts of capital.

These included Sakhalin Islands projects known as Sakhalin I, a $15 billion Exxon Mobil venture; and Sakhalin II, a $10 billion deal led by Royal Dutch/Shell which included Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Marathon Oil as partners. Siberian developments were even larger. RD/Shell is a 24.5% partner in Uganskneftegasin, which controls a huge Siberian natural gas field. At Priobskoye, BP Amoco operates a $53 billion project. At Timan Pechora on the Arctic Ocean a consortium made up of Exxon Mobil, Chevron Texaco, BP Amoco and Norsk Hydo runs a $48 billion venture.

In November 2001 Exxon Mobil announced plans to invest another $12 billion in an oil and gas project in the Russian Far East. RD/Shell announced a $8.5 billion investment in its Sakhalin Islands concessions. BP Amoco made similar proclamations. [734] In 1994 Lukoil pumped 416 million barrels of oil, making it fourth largest producer in the world after RD/Shell, Exxon Mobil and part-owner BP Amoco. Its fifteen billion barrels in crude reserves rank second in the world to Royal Dutch/ Shell. [735]

The Soviet Caucasus, with encouragement from Langley, soon split from Russia. The map of Central Asia was re-written as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Georgia all declared their independence. The pipeline Reagan ordered targeted carried Soviet natural gas east to the North Pacific port of Vladivostok and west to the Black Sea port of Novorrossiysk from the world’s richest known natural gas fields lying beneath and abutting the shoreline of the Caspian Sea, which lies in the heart of Caucasus.

The Four Horsemen coveted this resource more than any in the world. They wanted to build their own private pipelines once they got their hands on the Caspian Sea natural gas fields, which also contain an estimated 200 billion barrels of crude oil. Oil industry privatizations were quickly announced in the new Central Asian Republics which had, by virtue of their independence, taken control of the vast Caspian Sea oil and gas reserves. By 1991 Chevron was holding talks with Kazakhstan. [736]

The Central Asian Republics became the largest recipients of USAID aid, as well as ExIm Bank, OPIC and CCC loans. Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan were especially favored. These countries control the shoreline of the Caspian Sea, along with Russia and Iran. In 1994 Kazakhstan received $311 million in US aid and another $85 million to help dismantle Soviet-era nuclear weapons. President Clinton met with Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. They signed an array of agreements ranging from disarmament deals to space research cooperation. Kazakhstan, with an estimated 17.6 billion barrels of oil reserves, had been a strategic part of the Soviet nuclear weapons grid and was home to the Soviet space program.

The two leaders also signed an agreement providing investment protection for US multinationals. The Free Trade Institute and US Chamber of Commerce sent officials to train Kazakhs in the finer arts of global capitalism. The Four Horsemen moved in swiftly. Chevron Texaco laid claim to the biggest prize- the $20 billion Tenghiz oilfield- then grabbed another gusher at Korolev. Exxon Mobil signed a deal to develop an offshore concession in the Caspian. [737] Tengizchevroil is 45%-owned by Chevron Texaco and 25%-owned by Exxon Mobil. [738] President George W. Bush’s NSA and later Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice, an expert on Central Asia, sat on the board at Chevron alongside George Schultz from 1989-1992. She even had an oil tanker named after her.

Across the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan was receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid. BP Amoco led a consortium of seven oil giants who spent an initial $8 billion to develop three concessions off the coast of the capital Baku- historic base camp of Big Oil in the region. [739] BP Amoco and Pennzoil- recently acquired by Royal Dutch/Shell- took control of the Azerbaijan Oil Company, whose board of directors included former Bush Sr. Secretary of State James Baker.

In 1991 Air America super spook Richard Secord showed up in Baku under the cover of MEGA Oil. [740] Secord & Company did military training, sold Israeli arms, passed “brown bags filled with cash” and shipped in over 2,000 Islamist fighters from Afghanistan with help from Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Afghan heroin began flooding into Baku. Russian economist Alexandre Datskevitch said of 184 heroin labs that police discovered in Moscow in 1991, “Every one of them was run by Azeris, who use the proceeds to buy arms for Azerbaijan’s war against Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh”. [741]

A Turkish intelligence source claims that Exxon and Mobil were behind the 1993 coup against elected Armenian President Abulfaz Elchibey. Secord’s Islamists helped. Osama bin Laden set up an NGO in Baku as a base for attacking the Russians in Chechnya and Dagestan. A more pliant President Heidar Aliyev was installed. In 1996, at the behest of Amoco’s president, he was invited to the White House to meet President Clinton- whose NSA Sandy Berger held $90,000 worth of Amoco stock. [742]

Armenian separatists backed by the CIA took over the strategic Armenian regions of Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhnichevan which border Turkey and Iran. When Turkish President Turgut Ozal mentioned intervention in Nakhnichevan to back the Azerbaijani seizure, Turkish Premier Suleyman Demirel quickly played down the statement from the key US ally. These two regions are critical to Big Oil plans to build a pipeline from the Caspian Sea across Turkey to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorrossiysk. The same route is utilized by Turkey’s Gray Wolves mafia in their Central Asia to Europe heroin endeavors. When Gray Wolf Mehmet Ali Agca tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981, the CIA used its Gladio strategy, trying to pin it on Bulgaria’s Communist Lukashenko government.

Lukoil owns 26% of the Russian Black Sea port at Novorrossiysk. Its president Vayit Alekperov wanted to build the Caspian pipeline through Grozny in Chechnya, while the Four Horsemen preferred the route through Turkey. CIA support for Armenian separatists and Chechen Islamist rebels ensured chaos in Grozny. Alekperov finally agreed to the Turkish route.

In 2003 the Defense Department proposed a $3.8 million military training grant for Azerbaijan. Later they admitted it was to protect US access to oil. As author Michael Klare put it, “Slowly but surely, the US military is being converted into a global oil-protection service”. [743]

Turkmenistan, which borders the Caspian Sea on the southeast, is a virtual gas republic, containing massive deposits of natural gas. It also has vast reserves of oil, copper, coal, tungsten, zinc, uranium and gold. The biggest gas field is at Dauletabad in the southeast of the country, near the Afghan border. The Unocal-led Centgas set about building a pipeline which would connect the oil fields around Chardzhan to the Siberian oilfields further north. More crucial to Centgas was a gas pipeline from Dauletabad across Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Indian Ocean. [744] Advisers to the project included Henry Kissinger. Unocal is now part of Chevron.

With the Four Horsemen firmly in charge of Caspian Sea reserves, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium was born. Chevron Texaco took a 15% stake with the other three Horsemen and Lukoil splitting the rest. Pipeline security was provided by the Israeli firm Magal Security Systems, which is connected to Mossad. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have especially cozy relations with Israel via Special Ambassador Yusef Maiman, who is president of the Israeli Mehrav Group. Mehrav is involved in a project in Turkey to divert water from the upper Tigres and Euphrates Rivers to the southeast part of Turkey and away from Iraq. [745] The Caspian pipeline was built by Bechtel in partnership with GE and Wilbros Group. The pipeline quietly began moving oil and gas in November 2001, just two months after 911.

Bechtel also built the oilfield infrastructure at Tengiz for Chevron Texaco. In 1995 Bechtel led a USAID-funded consortium to restructure the energy sectors of eleven Central and Eastern European nations in line with IMF mandates. Bechtel received a massive contract to upgrade Russia’s many ailing aluminum smelters in tandem with Pechiney. Lukoil contracted with New Jersey-based ABB Lummus Crest (formed when engineering giants Asea Braun Boveri and Lummis Crest merged) to build a $1.3 billion refinery at the Novorrossysk port and to do a $700 million upgrade on its refinery at Perm.

The Bush Jr. Administration now planned a series of additional Caspian Sea pipelines to compliment the Tenghiz-Black Sea route. A Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline was built by a Four Horsemen consortium led by BP Amoco. The law firm representing the BP-led consortium is James Baker’s family law firm- Baker Botts. The BP Amoco pipeline runs the length of the country of Georgia through its capital Tblisi.

In February 2002 the US announced plans to send 200 military advisers and attack helicopters to Georgia to “root our terrorism”. [746] The deployment was a smokescreen for pipeline protection. In September 2002 Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivaniov accused Georgia of harboring Chechen rebels. In October 2003 Georgian President Eduard Schevardnadze was forced to step down in a bloodless revolution. According to a December 11, 2003 article on the World Socialist Party website, CIA sponsored the coup.

In September 2004 hundreds of Russian school children were killed when Chechen separatists seized their school building. Russian President Vladimir Putin said of the incident, “Certain political circles in the West want to weaken Russia, just like the Romans wanted to weaken Carthage.” He accused “foreign intelligence services” of complicity in the attacks. His adviser Aslanbek Aslakhanov went further, stating on Russian Channel 2 News, “The men had their conversations not within Russia, but with other countries. They were led on a leash. Our self-styled friends have been working for several decades to dismember Russia… (they are the) puppeteers and are financing terror.” Russia’s KM News ran the headline, “School Seizure was Planned in Washington and London”. [747]

Lukoil epitomizes the corruption so rampant in Russia since the Soviet collapse. Bribery is the norm. Lukoil has given luxury jets to the mayor of Moscow, the head of Gazprom (the state-owned natural gas monopoly) and Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev. In the mid-1990’s Lukoil announced that it would sell another 15 % stake to foreign stockholders through its largest owner and financial adviser CS First Boston and the Bank of New York. [748] In 2002 they announced plans to sell off another big stake.

According to Kurt Wulff of the oil investment firm McDep Associates, the Four Horsemen, romping in their new Far East pastures, saw asset increases from 1988-1994 as follows: Exxon Mobil- 54%, Chevron Texaco- 74%, Royal Dutch/Shell- 52% and BP Amoco- 54%. The Horsemen had more than doubled their collective assets in six short years. This quantum leap in Anglo-American global power had everything to do with the takeover of the old Soviet oil patch and the subsequent impoverishment of its birthright owners.

Dean Henderson is the author of Big Oil & Their Bankers in the Persian Gulf: Four Horsemen, Eight Families & Their Global Intelligence, Narcotics & Terror Network, The Grateful Unrich: Revolution in 50 Countries and Das Kartell der Federal Reserve. Subscriptions to his Left Hook blog are FREE at http://www.deanhenderson.wordpress.com

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Don’t joke. If anyone dares even THINK to target against Russia, much less touch Russia, whats left of the KGB can still put a bullet in every single last Illuminated scum or plutocrat puppeteer. Marx is superior to USA’s current uncontrolled Capitalism where regards the 99% and the middle or lower wealth classes, so the 99% will be firmly behind Socialism/Communism. I can’t imagine Russia tolerating any such nonsense from a fiat wealth group that cannot even handle Iran without hiding behind a proxy USA and Israel. Not finished in the Middle East, can’t control Iraq or Afghanistan and want to try taking on Russia? Unbelievable. Russia could almost invade USA and win right now. China in fact while an ally of Russia has always been wary of Russia’s strength as well, and thats for conventionals not world destroying nukes like Israel or Iran have intentions for! In fact Dean had better tone down, or the KGB will fry Dean’s brain with a satellite without Dean knowing what happened.

The Illuminati can’t be that stupid to even dare try target Russia, they have the ‘class’ bought with money and extreme networks, but try the Soviet Red Guard with other Commie allies combing the world after they take out the USA (and cynically leave Israel for Iran to toy with? Iran is fundo-hateful but hopefully not insane enough to use nukes, though Israel might use Israels own nukes if they panic, so Iran, do the world a favour, don’t make Israel too frightened and wind up causing Israel to end up irradiating everyone . . . ) and ‘no match’ is still the word. BTW Dean probably just pissed off BOTH parties Russia and Illuminati by trying to pit them against each other . . .

Could you imagine going to jail for your faith? A recent report warns that it could happen.

CBN News investigated the growing wave of hostility to Christianity in America that’s led to hundreds of court cases.

No Religion Allowed

Angela Hildenbrand faced the very real possibility of going to jail for her faith. The trouble began when a federal judge ruled that no one at her Texas high school could pray or even use words like “prayer” or “amen” during the 2011 graduation ceremonies.

As class valedictorian, Hildenbrand felt God deserved the praise, even if it meant jail for her.

“I was definitely preparing myself to have to make that sort of tough decision and mentally prepare myself for what well could be coming next,” she told CBN News.

Hildenbrand’s case is just one of more than 640 cases of religious hostility cited in a new report by the Liberty Institute. General Counsel Jeff Mateer, who takes on many of these cases, helped put the survey together.

“The rate of hostility to people of faith is overwhelming,” he said. “It’s increasing. Every day, we’re getting calls.”

One call involved the Veterans Administration demanding to preview Scott Rainey’s prayer for a Memorial Day ceremony at Houston National Cemetery.

They told Rainey, who pastors the Living Word Church of the Nazarene in Houston, he couldn’t pray “in Jesus’ name.”

“I have never said a prayer in my life where I didn’t end it saying ‘in the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen,'” Pastor Rainey said.

Contending for the Faith

Mateer is also working to save this veteran’s memorial cross in San Diego, one of several cases that could have serious national consequences if courts order their removal.

“Are we going to bulldoze all those crosses?” Mateer asked. “We’re going to sandblast God from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?”

But Mateer says the good news is, when believers fight back, they usually win.

“You need to stand up and fight,” he said. “And that’s exactly what Angela did.”

Just one day before Hildenbrand’s graduation, an appeals court ruled she could pray and say whatever she wanted.

“I thank You for Your great love for us and for our great nation, where we are free,” she prayed at her graduation. “And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”

Courts eventually ruled that Pastor Rainey — and all veterans at burials — are allowed to freely express their faith.

But there is an across-the-board assault of religious hostility, and Americans’ religious liberty hangs in the balance.

[[[ *** RESPONSE ** ]]]

Let Christians stop abusing the people around them or let those abused or vilified by Christianity first be exhonerated and healed before any talk of fighting back. Until then hostility to this insane Aramean sect and cult of personality and cult of man, will continue until Monotheism is sandblasted off the Earth. Thats just one creep that inspires abuse and insanity in the followers, as opposed to the glory of the Universe and all beings not yet evolved but enslaved instantaneously with no chance to be Man’s equal by a verse in a biblical text written 2000 years ago as opposed to the Earth’s 2 billion years of age. Presumptuous egregore formed of the dead! Who gave the cult of a single fundamentalist man born 2000 years ago permission to disenfranchise the UNIVERSE and all non-human species? Christianity emboldens the followers to bully and disregard the rights of non-Christians, non-humans, all alien sentient/sapient life in the Universe . . .

ARTICLE 15

French National Front leader Marine Le Pen calls for ban on wearing of the Jewish skullcap in public – ‘in the name of equality’ – By Peter Allen – PUBLISHED: 16:55 GMT, 23 September 2012 | UPDATED: 18:01 GMT, 23 September 2012

Ban on full-face coverings – including the Islamic veil – came into force in France last year
Marine Le Pen is now calling for a ban on all religious headgear, as well as kosher and halal food in schools

‘What would people say if I only asked to ban Muslim clothing? They would burn me as a Muslim hater’

Far Right: French National Front leader Marine Le Pen has called for a ban on Jewish headgear

Far right politician Marine Le Pen has caused outrage across France by calling for the banning of the Jewish skullcap in public.

The leader of National Front won a fifth of the popular vote during the first round of May’s presidential election on a largely anti-Muslim immigration agenda.

Now in an interview she has called not just for a ban on the wearing of Islamic veils in public, but also the kippah – leading to France’s most senior Rabbi to describe her view as ‘deeply deplorable’.

Her inflammatory words come at a time of heightened tensions caused by a Paris satirical magazine’s decision to publish a series of cartoons mocking both Islam and Judaism.

One of the images in Charlie Hebdo shows a Prophet Mohammed character being pushed around in a wheelchair by a Rabbi.

Ms Le Pen told Le Monde that all religious headwear should be banned ‘in shops, on public transport and on the streets’.

‘It’s obvious that if the veil is banned, the kippah should be banned in public as well,’ she said. The French parliament passed a ban on full-face coverings, including the Islamic veil in 2010 and the law came into force last year.

Miss Le Pen, whose infamous father Jean-Marie Le Pen is a convicted racist and anti-Semite, also called for a ban on public prayers.

And she said kosher and halal foods should be outlawed in schools, along with foreign governments being allowed to pay for mosques.

Schoolgirl, 15, flees to France on a ferry with with her male maths TEACHER, 30, as her desperate parents beg for her to return home
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a giant manned dragonfly, a tool-box and tandem cyclists soaring across southern France
Crackdown as France bans anyone from protesting about cartoons criticising Prophet Mohammad

‘Jewish skullcaps are obviously not a problem in our country,’ she said, insisting nevertheless that France has to ‘ban them in the name of equality’.

‘The situation in our country has changed. We used to have a fragile balance between religions, but massive immigration has changed that,’ Ms Le Pen said.

‘Veils and jilbabs are putting us under pressure. France is a victim of sectarian political groups due to the ruling parties’ incapacity to deal with the problem.

‘What would people say if I had only asked to ban Muslim clothing? They would burn me as a Muslim hater.’

President Francois Hollande attacked Ms Le Pen’s comments.

‘Everything that tears people apart, opposes them and divides them is inappropriate,’ he said. ‘We must apply the rules, the only rules that we know – the rules of the Republic and secularism.’

Religious headgear: The kippah, or yarmulke, is usually worn by Orthodox or Hasidic Jews who believe the head must be covered at all times

On Friday Mr Hollande opened a new Holocaust memorial in Paris, commemorating the thousands of Jews who were sent to their deaths after being held at the Drancy internment camp.

The camp was run by French policemen working alongside the SS, and rolling stock from France’s national railway, SNCF, was used to take victims to Germany.

Mr Cope said: ‘Marine Le Pen wants to ban any signs of religion on the streets, starting with the veil and the kippah.

‘By doing this, she shows she does not understand anything about secularism. Secularism is not about the eradication of all religious expressions in society.’

Gilles Bernheim, France’s Chief Rabbi, said: ‘Mixing up the tradition of the skullcap and the veil only generates more confusion in people’s minds. I deeply deplore her statement.’

And Richard Prasquier, leader of the CRIF Jewish council in France, said the Ms Le Pen’s claims showed there were ‘secular fanatics just as there are religious fanatics’.

‘Obviously, I am hostile to both,’ he said.

The CFCM, France’s main Muslim council, meanwhile said that Le Pen wanted to ‘set up a totalitarian regime in France.’

There are around half-a-million Jews in France, many of them living in major cities like Paris, where skull caps have been a familiar sight for centuries.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

As John F. Hickory of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City fame once said “I am not a racist I hate everyone regardless of other issues. . . . I’m a patriot! I’ve even got an orange grove tattooed all over my groin.”

Le Pen needs an Orange Grove tattooed on her groin.

ARTICLE 16

Katy Perry ‘Paid £1.2 Million’ To Sing At Holly Valance’s Lavish Wedding – And That’s Not All! All the pricey details on one fairytale wedding October 2, 2012

Every bride wants their wedding day to be special, but it looks like Holly Valance’s was a no expense spared kind of celebration as the ex Neighbours actress reportedly paid Katy Perry £1.2 million to perform at her wedding to billionaire business man Nick Candy.

The couple tied the knot on Saturday in a lavish ceremony in Beverley Hills, with the eventual costs reported to have topped £3 million. The ‘Firework’ singer performed a 45-minute set at the party, but she wasn’t the only entertainment as the cast of Jersey Boys were flown out from London to LA especially to perform for the bride, who is said to be a fan of the musical.

Of the 330 guests their were faces from fashion, celebrity, TV and even royalty. Nancy Dell’Olio, artist Tracey Emin, Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli and milliner Philip Treacy were amongst guests as were Simon Cowell, Elton John, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie who sipped champagne and mojito cocktails as they enjoyed the festivities and entertainment.

Holly Valance and Nick Candy tie the knot (Splash News)

Holly made sure all eyes were on her on the big day with her J’Aton Couture gown featuring a dramatic 15ft veil with sweetheart neckline. The custom made gown wasn’t exactly cheap either with the darker shades of the dress thought to have cost £35,000 alone.

The ‘Kiss Kiss’ singer made sure to thank the designer on Twitter for the creation, she wrote: “Thank u 2 the most supremely talented & divine humans I’ve come across in a long time @JAtonCouture U R just phenomenal. Love u & all u do.X [sic]”

Let’s hope they have some change left over for honeymoon.

The Most Lavish Wedding Ever? Holly and Nick Tie The Knot

Holly Valance is clearly a fan of the “more is more” school of thought – just check out that lavish train and veil! September 30 2012 (Splash News)

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Fellow stars should offer to perform for free. 1.2 mill for a wedding is just mercenary, especially for those in the same boat and same industry. How about covering 1.2 million worth of foreclosures for the average American about to lose their home instead of this meaningless and cynical wealth exchange between plutocrats?

ARTICLE 17

It’s not a nudist exhibition! Nancy Dell’Olio proves keen to show off the female form in low cut playsuit at gallery opening – by Fehintola Betiku – PUBLISHED: 01:21 GMT, 5 October 2012 | UPDATED: 06:53 GMT, 5 October 2012

At 51-years-old she has the confidence to step out in ensemble that some might argue are better suited to ladies half her age.

But not concerned with what naysayers have to say, Nancy Dell’Olio was pictured on Thursday evening in an eye-popping low cut playsuit.

The former Strictly Come Dancing star put her plunging attire to the test as she leaned forward and posed for photographers at the opening of Ellie Davies’ exhibition in London.

Doing it her way: Nancy Dell’Olio stepped out in a revealing all-in-one on Thursday evening as she attended photographer Ellie Davies’ exhibition in London

Allowing her loosely curled dark locks to fall at her shoulders, Nancy’s attempted to cover up a little by teaming her thigh skimming all in one with a pair of sheer tights.

FIRST LISTEN: Adele cements herself as a true Bond icon with release of official theme tune for Skyfall
Standing out for all the wrong reasons: The X Factor’s Rylan Clark commits fashion fail as contestants prepare for first live show
Lady in leather: The Saturdays’ Mollie King smoulders as she enjoys solo photo shoot

With a pair of knee high black suede heeled boots completing her look, Dell’Olio accessorised with silver looped drop earrings and a black clutch bag.

The ever glamorous American-Italian lawyer created feline eyes with lashings of black liner as she opted to keep the rest of her make-up to a minimal.

Eye popping! Nancy beamed as she posed for photographers in the low cut playsuit

Too much… The 51-year-old completed her look with knee high boots and a sheer tights

The socialite was seen making her presence known during exhibition, which was held at The Richard Young gallery, as she worked the room and chatted with other guests.

But ensuring her daring get-up didn’t go to waste, Nancy made her rounds whilst stopping every so often to strike a pose against a piece of art which lined the walls in the space.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This is NOT near nudist anything. The whole dress is really conservative and somewhat classy, if not for the decolletage (also conservative V necked button top which is already unisex) , there would be no sense of feminity in the clothing. One sees more semi topless (semi-topless is not topless, topless with breasts entierly exposed alone, is not nudism either, just toplessness) people at gala events far more dressed down. This doesn’t really make any non-fundo type (or barely out of adolescent types, or ill disciplined types – Olio’s attached – so unless ready to fight for relationship rights with whoever don’t bother) feel anything.

Cements Adele as an ‘Bondworld’ icon? Not really . . . Adele’s the ‘Moneypenny’ of the Bondworld crossed with a young M more like . . .

With more than 26million followers on her Twitter account, it makes sense that Rihanna should choose the micro-blogging site to unveil promotional material for her new perfume.

‘Here is my new add for a brand new fragrance #NUDE !!! Make sure you smell sexy, especially naked, this fall,’ tweeted the Barbados-born recording artist on Friday.

The ad shows the 24-year-old mega star wearing nothing but cream lace lingerie, a piece of gauze fabric draped strategically over her crotch.
Her latest incarnation: Rihanna tweeted this new ad for her new fragrance ‘Nude’ on Friday

Her latest incarnation: Rihanna tweeted this new ad for her new fragrance Nude on Friday

‘Is there such a thing as loving two people?’ Chris Brown opens up about Rihanna romance in candid new video… which shows footage of pair together

The singer’s release of the photograph comes after a week of drama which saw her spend three nights running in the company of her ex Chris Brown, whose assault on his then girlfriend in 2009 left Rihanna hospitalised.

Debut: Rihanna wrote to her 26million followers about the fragrance on Friday

Another night with Chris: Rihanna heads to the airport after attending Jay-Z’s concert in New York with Brown

Brown on Thursday confirmed he had split from his current girlfriend, explaining he didn’t want to hurt Karrueche Tran as a result of his ‘friendship’ with Rihanna.

Brown then released a video in which he asks: ‘IS it possible to love two people?’

Meanwhile Rihanna made a veiled reference to Brown as she wrote on her Twitter: ‘Ain’t nobody bidness….. But mine and my baby!’

And friends of the pair are said to be concerned about their potential reconciliation.

Loving the drama: Friends of Chris and Rihanna are said to be concerned about the rconciliation

A source told RadarOnline.com: ‘Chris and Rihanna just love the drama. They know their fans don’t support them getting back together, and that it’s a terrible PR move since Chris was convicted of beating Rihanna.

‘However, this is what Chris and Rihanna thrive on. There are still major trust issues that Rihanna has with Chris, with good reason, he was hooking up with her while he was still dating Karrueche. Chris and Rihanna back together in any capacity is just a disaster in the making.’

Chris was yesterday seen jetting out of New York to Los Angeles following three consecutive nights of partying with Rihanna.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Wearing any sort of lingerie or anything cancels nakedness because of the presence of clothing on the body, in this case lingerie. Which makes the advert oxymoronic in reference to name of the perfume. Also ‘cream lace’ (refers to the colour of the lace) is NOT THE SAME AS ‘cream lace lingerie’ (refers to the colour of the lace UPON the lingerie). Cream, lace and cream-lace are also different things when stated on their own. So if lingerie is being worn, a person cannot be naked. Cockt3as3! This perfume is going to be another misnomer if the inventor won’t even honour the name of the perfume by being naked on their own advert. Any REAL naked people ready to do a real naked perfume? Hint of a ‘less than rude girl’ appears! Get naked for REAL, no more of the misnomer dis-industry!

Dr Wan Azizah speaks at the launch of PKR’s ‘Merdeka Rakyat’ mobile stage in Petaling Jaya on September 7, 2012. — Picture by Choo Choy May
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — PKR today demanded equal punishment on all those who have stomped on photographs of political leaders and activists regardless of their political leanings, accusing the authorities of using selective prosecution to quell dissent against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN).

Party president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail pointed out that similarly unruly acts committed in the past by Umno or pro-BN activists against Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders like Lim Guan Eng had not resulted in any probe by the police.

But she noted that several youths found guilty of stomping on or mooning over pictures of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, his wife and Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof during last week’s pro-democracy gathering are currently facing the full extent of the law for their actions.

“It is selective prosecution. If you want to take action, take action against all those who have committed similarly offensive acts… take equal action against all.

“If the act was committed against Lim Guan Eng, take action, if against the PM, take action, if against (PAS spiritual adviser Datuk) Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, take action… then it is fair,” she told reporters at the launch of PKR’s “Merdeka Rakyat” mobile stage here.

A 19-year-old student, who was caught on camera exposing his bottom and stomping on the photographs of Najib and his wife, has reportedly been expelled from college — the Cheras-based Cybernetics International College of Technology — for insulting a national leader.

The police had earlier arrested the boy, as well as a number of other teenagers, for stomping on the photographs, in what opposition politicians have described as an over-reaction to the exuberance of young activists.

It is unclear what charges the boy faces, but the police have arrested him under the Sedition Act, which Najib had announced earlier this year would be repealed.

“This goes to show that they just want to use any instrument to prosecute people whom they think are against them.

“But when it comes to the opposition, it is like — never mind, there is no need to prosecute,” Dr Wan Azizah said.

Sedition is not clearly defined and this was one of the reasons for the planned repeal as its use has sparked complaints of abuse by the authorities.

Similar offensive acts committed by pro-BN activists have gone unpunished in the past, including the performance of butt exercises by a group of army veterans at the home of Bersih 2.0 co-chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.

Earlier yesterday, another teenager apologised for stepping on the prime minister’s picture at Dataran Merdeka during the countdown of the country’s 55th National Day last week.

Ong Sing Yee, 19, surrendered to the police in Johor on Wednesday to help with investigations into the incident.

The police were reported to have set up three task forces to investigate three separate incidents of hooliganism that took place over the National Day weekend.

A firestorm erupted last week after several individuals were recorded tearing up posters bearing images of the prime minister, his wife and Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof at the same event.

Several other people were spotted waving a flag with an alternative design ? now identified as the Sang Saka Malaya ? instead of the Jalur Gemilang at the National Day bash last Thursday night.

Bukit Aman’s CID director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin told The Malaysian Insider that the police were probing the two separate incidents under the Sedition Act ? despite Putrajaya’s decision to repeal the controversial law that has been widely panned as a tool to curb political dissent.

Mohd Bakri said the police were probing the flag incident as an attempt to incite hatred with intent to create public disorder under Section 4 (1)(a) of the Sedition Act 1948.

He added that stepping on pictures of Najib and wife were considered offences under Sections 290 and 504 of the Penal Code for being public nuisances and intentionally causing insult with an intent to provoke break the public peace, respectively.

Those convicted under Section 290 may be fined up to RM400 while those found guilty under Section 504 are liable to be jailed up to two years or fined, or both.

However, Section 4 (1)(a) of the Sedition Act prescribes a mandatory jail term of three years or a fine of up to RM5,000 for first offenders, which is subsequently raised to five years’ jail for repeat offences.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Punish ALL?!? ALL will punish those who want to punish ALL! This is as much a regular citizen’s country as those working in government who should only be there for 2 terms! Pakatan lied about 90% campaign promises (where are the Local Council Elections?!? MP Declarations of Assets?) and decided on who sat on the Penang CM’s post (oh look, DAP’s party ‘Chairman FOR LIFE’ decided own kid LGE should be CM . . . ) without quorum or vote. Nik Aziz wants hudud. PUNISH THESE 2 instead! Oh and punish Najib and BN also who do not end apartheid . . . 3rd Force only!

An anti-hopping law would give party leaders even more power over MPs, who already cannot muster the courage to disobey the party whip if they believe that a Bill is not in the interests of their constituents.

MANY commentators with whom I generally agree on measures to improve our country seem to have been hoodwinked into supporting a popular anti-democratic move, namely the banning of party hopping by members of parliament and state legislators.

I opposed this in a political philosophy essay I wrote at university in 2002, I opposed it in my column in 2008 and I oppose it now.

The whole campaign is based on two flawed assumptions.

The first is that Malaysians vote for political parties, not for individuals. This is legally untrue (our Federal Constitution refers to “individuals” elected to the Dewan Rakyat and the “individual” to be appointed Prime Minister, but never to “political parties”), but even those who understand this

important distinction claim that “Malaysians vote for parties by default”, which has not been scientifically verified (I suspect most Malaysians give consideration to both the party’s manifesto and the candidate’s background and record).

If it turns out that Malaysians do in fact vote for the party rather than the candidate, they should campaign for a law to be passed to make this a legal reality, but until then, it is dangerous to fix a perceived problem based on unverified claims.

The second assumption is that whenever an instance of party hopping occurs, it is the candidate who is at fault, rather than the party. Well, let us imagine that I vote for Puan Thavamani of the Feline Front because she campaigns (in accordance with the party manifesto) to ban dogs from public roads.

She wins the election, but months later there is an internal party struggle. The leader is replaced, and he reverses the party policy: dogs will now be allowed to roam free everywhere.

I am furious, because I supported the candidate based on this manifesto pledge. If YB Thavamani now supports canine freedom on public roads, she would be violating the trust I placed in her.

At the very least, I would expect her to defy her party whip in relevant parliamentary votes.

But let us imagine that party policy changes in other areas too, and it is clear that the manifesto is being disregarded to the extent that a different political party, the Cats Pact, better reflects the manifesto I supported. I would most definitely support YB Thavamani hopping from Feline Front to

Cats Pact better fight for the causes that I supported.

Clearly, if a no party-hopping law was in force, she could not do that.

More flexible commentators agree that she should be able to hop, but must resign and re-contest.

However, apart from the costs involved, this would also be a breach of my trust – I voted expecting her to serve for a full term.

Furthermore, it is possible that the new result could be less democratically legitimate if the by-election has a lower turnout than at the general election (perhaps my critics will then support the undemocratic idea of compulsory voting).

My detractors will say that my analogy does not apply in Malaysia, where the reality is that inducements are made to successful candidates to switch loyalties for pure political power play rather than ideological differences.

Even then, there is a better way to deal with unprincipled party hopping than to attempt to ban it: namely, to democratise the political parties.

At the moment, it is easy for Party Leader A to buy a candidate’s support from Party Leader B because in both parties it is the party leader who decides who gets to be a candidate and where: the loyalty goes upwards.

But if Party B were to instead have candidates elected by local party grassroots or even all voters in a constituency (like in US primaries), it would be much more difficult for Party Leader A to buy any support: the candidate would feel loyalty downwards, to a much larger base of people.

Naturally, none of our party leaders from both sides of the divide are supporting such a scheme because they all want to hold on to the enormous powers of patronage they currently enjoy.

Indeed, an anti-hopping law would give party leaders even more power over MPs, who already cannot muster the courage to disobey the party whip if they believe that a Bill is not in the interests of their constituents!

So, while I certainly sympathise with those who are disgusted by unprincipled politicians, I believe that banning party hopping will not deal with the root causes.

Rather, we should seek more democracy within political parties, more transparency on political party funding and more media freedom. These will help ensure that in future, any candidate who wishes to switch allegiance will better have a damn good reason to do so.

> Tunku ’Abidin Muhriz is president of IDEAS

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

NLP alert! Typical from UMNO types. Freedom to be loyal? And look at the NPP pic . . . ABIDING TIMES?!? F— that T.A.M.. Try ‘RESISTING’ TIMES . . . IDEAS is unusable, aka IDEAS is FIRED! . . . Freedom to be DIS-loyal as well please . . . the only loyalty must be to the Rakyat via policy writing, don’t be a Wakil Parti and no matter how good one’s local language is (Malay). no amount of praise of Rakyat or kissing of babies will be comparable to good policy writing. IDEAS has shown their true colours.

NABBED: Nine Vietnamese prostitutes and GROs aged between 18 and 28 were arrested during the raid
A MASSAGE parlour and a car wash outlet in Sunway Mentari have given new meaning to the phrase “customer loyalty”. They have come up with a creative way to entice more customers to engage their services by offering free sex after nine car washes.

However, their three-month old “win-win” partnership went bust after police stormed the massage parlour on Monday night.

In the 9pm operation, nine Vietnamese women, believed to be prostitutes and GROs, aged between 18 and 28, were arrested.

Selangor National Key Result Area (NKRA) Crime Prevention Division officer-in-charge, ASP Emmi Shah Fadhil, said police got wind of the activity after the raiding team found several car wash loyalty cards from five customers who were caught having sex with the prostitutes.

“It was supposed to be just another routine operation,” he said. Emmi Shah said the team later found out that customers who sent their cars to the nearby car wash will be given a loyalty card each.

“To get the extra ‘offer’, customers must send their cars for washing nine times within a certain period. The tenth car wash will entitle them to free sex,” said Emmi Shah.

He said those who sought sex immediately would need to fork out between RM130 and RM180 per session.

“When we raided the premises, the women panicked. Some even tried to hide in the storeroom. Four men, believed to be the operators and caretakers, were also detained,” he said.

Emmi Shah said besides the loyalty card, the team also found several condoms stashed inside a microwave.

Checks revealed the premises, equipped with CCTV, only allowed Chinese patrons to enter.

He said the women were found to have violated their social visit passes and had been working without permits.

They were taken to Petaling Jaya police headquarters for further investigations. Selangor police had conducted 4,220 raids and detained 2,304 women involved in prostitution and vice activities from January to Aug 31 this year. Out of the total, 214 women are locals while 2,090 are foreigners.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Moral of the story or basis of failed Malaysian law is . . . Muslims hate sex and fun? This sort of thing is quite dull and uninteresting and even that the authorities want to morally police via the civil police force? Time to vote in a more matured government.

ARTICLE 5

The only good politician is a dead politician – NO HOLDS BARRED – by Raja Petra Kamarudin – Monday, 10 September 2012 Super Admin

Would an orgy help then? I mean, not only will we encourage males and females to mix freely but they can also strip naked and engage in an orgy. We will have a mass bonking session involving 1,000 men and women. Will this make Malaysians love each other more? If free mingling of males and females can help improve racial harmony just imagine what free sex can do.

Those are just some of the news items this morning. There are, of course, many more than just those four and all give Islam a bad name. Basically, the impression that one gets is Islam or Muslims is about violence, conflict, killing, intolerance, extremism etc.

Why is it when we read anything about Islam or Muslims it must always be something negative? Aren’t there any good news like Muslims set up relief centres for refugees, Muslims raise USD100 million for war orphans, Muslims condemn and call for economic sanctions against states that propagate terrorism, and whatnot?

I am sure that there are some good news but who likes to read good news? It is the bad news that sells. Sex, politics, murder — those are what sell. And if it is a politician involved in a sex cum murder scandal that sells even better. Hence do you now understand why the Altantuya Shaariibuu story will just not go away?

Today there is that story about PAS in Negri Sembilan separating the males and females at its Hara Raya bash (Negri PAS under fire for segregating sexes at Raya open house).

State MCA political and strategy bureau head Datuk Lee Yuen Fong said PAS’ action only caused uneasiness among Malaysians. “Why do you need to segregate when it is an open house and held in an open area? This is a preview of what PAS will do if it ever gains power,” he said.

Negri Sembilan Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism council chairman Edward Lim said that having such a rule would not help foster unity. “We can understand if the rule is introduced to ensure women, girls and children get their food as there is always a scramble at such events,” he said.

National MIC information chief Datuk V.S. Mogan described the segregation as ridiculous. “It mocks the open house concept and doesn’t help in promoting unity,” he said.

PAS has been doing this for years. I have attended many PAS functions at Taman Melawar in Gombak (not only Hari Raya events) and they have always had separate sections and separate entrances for males and females.

But this has never upset my wife and me one bit. My wife just walks in together with me through the ‘male’ entrance and she sits together with me in the male section. She does not join the other ladies in the ladies section. And that has never been an issue. No one has come up to her to ask her to leave the male section and go join the women in the ladies section. In fact, my wife was not even wearing a tudung or scarf. And sometimes she wears tight/body-hugging jeans and a ‘sexy’ T-shirt.

These people make it appear like this is something that PAS only introduced this year rather than it has always been like that for more than two generations. And what are these MCA, MIC and Negri Sembilan Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism council people complaining about? The event is a PAS event held at their place. They can decide how they want things done in their own event.

If you come to my event, say at my house, I will expect you to take off your shoes even though taking off your shoes when entering someone’s house is not British culture. It is my house so I will decide how things are done. And if you don’t like it then don’t come to my house. Simple!

The event was a PAS event. If PAS says no dogs are allowed then don’t bring your dog. Go bring your dog to a MCA or MIC event of you wish. If PAS says you cannot strip and dance stark naked on top of the table then don’t do that. Do that when you go to the Negri Sembilan Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism council gathering.

Lee said that in a multi-racial and multi-religious country like Malaysia, it was important for people to mix with one another as it would help promote understanding.

So the state MCA political and strategy bureau head, Datuk Lee Yuen Fong, wants to promote racial harmony through free mingling of males and females. If males and females were not allowed to mix freely then Malaysia would suffer racial discord.

Would an orgy help then? I mean, not only will we encourage males and females to mix freely but they can also strip naked and engage in an orgy. We will have a mass bonking session involving 1,000 men and women. Will this make Malaysians love each other more? If free mingling of males and females can help improve racial harmony just imagine what free sex can do.

Actually, asking men and women to mix freely or organising orgies would not solve the racial problem in Malaysia. What would help improve things would be when we line up all the politicians in front of a firing squad and shoot them, especially those politicians who are using race and religion to divide Malaysians.

The only good politician is a dead politician, I always say.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

A 2 term limited politician rather? Don’t kill politicians, just limit their corrupting term limitless influence by getting the voters to remove them and also write laws to prevent politicians from staying in power too long and getting 750K funeral ideas from false senses of self entitlement to taxpayer funds or a UN impossible to accept moral policing.

THE government owes at least three reports to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council for the UN Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw) committee.

Women Aid’s Organisation (WAO) executive director Ivy Josiah said that Malaysia, which acceded to Cedaw on July 5, 1995, was supposed to submit a periodic report on the progress of implementing the convention’s provisions but it has not complied.

“Since than, the government had only reported to the committee once when it prepared a combined first and second report in 2004 and appeared before the committee in 2006.

“The government is obligated to submit a report to the committee every four years,” she said. Josiah said this led to the creation of an alternative report, initiated by 22 non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

“The NGOs became tired of waiting for the Malaysian government’s report, which was due four years ago. So, in the absence of the report, the NGOs got together to develop an alternative report which details the government’s progress in the implementation.

“We urge the government to submit their report by the end of the year,” said Josiah, who coordinated the report.

The alternative report, which was launched yesterday, provides examples of the impact of gender discrimination, including the continued representation of women in politics and decision-making positions, consistently low labour force participation of women and non-recognition of marital rape.

It also contains a landmark ruling which declared Cedaw as having the force of law and is binding on state authorities.

Josiah also said she was disappointed that the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry did not respond to an invitation to the launch.

Former Cedaw committee member Shanthi Dairiam said globally, Cedaw has the least number of overdue reports as compared to other treaties but Malaysia stands out as going against that trend in fulfilling its reporting obligations.

“After the combined first and second report, the government was then instructed by UN to submit its combined third and fourth report in 2008, but none has been forthcoming.

“This alternative report is a powerful tool that we can all use for the purpose of advocacy and identifies areas in which discrimination against women continues to persist,” she said, adding that the government must play its part in honouring pledges made to the UN.

Also present at the launch was National Human Rights vice-chairperson Datuk Dr Khaw Lake Tee, who said that Malaysia has to date only ratified three out of nine major UN treaties, namely the Cedaw, Convention on Rights of the Child and Convention on The Rights of Persons With Disabilities.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Anything and everyone, except APARTHEID against ENTIRE minority communities nearly 40% of the population eh? CEDAW is a rubbish NGO that supports Bumiputra APARTHEID by sidelining EQUALITY in this tacit approval manner specifically focusing on Women’s Rights instead. CEDAW is a useless NGO!

The smokescreen of ‘defeating communism’ was used to justify atrocities such as Batang Kali 1948. Notice that the Malaysian government has kept a guilty silence over this case despite hounding Mat Sabu over Bukit Kepong.

On 4 September 2012, the London High Court of Justice handed down a judgement that there was no legal duty for Her majesty’s Government to hold an inquiry over the killing of 24 civilians by HMG’s Scots Guards at Batang Kali on 11/12 December 1948 and that the claimants had no grounds to challenge the decisions of the Secretaries of State not to hold an inquiry.

The conclusion of the court was that the decisions of the Secretaries of State “were not unreasonable…” They had maintained that the facts of the case remained in dispute; the veracity of the accounts was in doubt as most of the witnesses had died, and the evidence would be unreliable since it happened more than sixty years ago.

Regarding the claim that the Secretaries of State had an obligation to conduct an inquiry under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the court cited the House of Lords decision [Re McKerr and McCaughey UKHL 12, 1 WLR 807] that “there was no duty to investigate a death before the coming into force of the Human Rights Act on 2 October 2000.” (para 93)

Although this may seem like a setback for the claimants and all who demand justice for the 24 victims, there are certain positive dimensions in this judgement and hope in comparable cases elsewhere.

1. The court established that the 24 victims were civilians and not combatants (para 1):

On 13 December 1948, the British High Commissioner had reported the deaths to the Colonial Office as “the shooting and killing of 26 bandits…” This was standard propaganda during the Emergency by the British colonial government and their local custodians. It has taken all these 64 years for this fact to be established by a British court!

2. The British Government had command and control over the Scots Guards

The Secretaries of State had argued in the court that the British Government had no legal responsibility for the actions of the Scots Guards who did the killing at Batang Kali, so they were under no duty to hold an inquiry to pin the responsibility. They had argued, very much like our learned professors in the Mat Sabu/ Mat Indera case, that the Scots Guards were merely assisting the Federation or the Selangor Sultan or both, in maintaining order. In any case, they further argued that any responsibility would have lapsed to the Federation of Malaya upon independence in 1957 via Article 167 of the Constitution.

Nevertheless, the court decided that:

“It is clear, in our view, that the British Government had command and control over the Scots Guards. First, the Scots Guards were part of the British Army in contradistinction to the Malay Regiment and other local forces. Second, it is evident from the minute of the British Cabinet…that the reason for the decision to send the brigade of the British Army was to defend British interests against the advance of communism on what was in reality territory the British Government controlled, to prevent the deaths of British citizens and to protect its economic interests. Third, control over the deployment of the army in Malaya was vested in British Defence Co-ordination Committee Far East…Fourth, the Scots Guards were paid for by the British Government…” (para 112)

Thus, this judgement has wide applications in the Mat Sabu/Mat Indera case although I suspect many of our local professors need not just legal exposure but rather, political awareness of our colonial history.

Batang Kali is Britain’s Rawagedeh

Another source of hope for the claimants of Batang Kali is the recent apology by the Dutch government for a massacre of 150 people at Rawagede committed by its soldiers in Indonesia in 1947, as the country fought for independence. Earlier in 2011, a court in the Netherlands ordered the government to pay compensation over the killings. The case was brought by relatives of those who were killed. Reports said the Netherlands would pay 20,000 euros to the relatives, but the exact figure was still being negotiated.

A Crime against Humanity

The Rawagedeh claimants had argued that what took place in Rawagedeh on December 9, 1947 was a crime against humanity. Like any other colonial power, the Dutch had used the euphemistic term ‘excesses’ to describe the tragedy. Like the British in Malaya, the Dutch state defined it as an internal problem. On December 9, 1947 Dutch forces raided the West Javanese village to look for weapons and the Indonesian freedom fighter Lukas Kustario. Unable to find him, the Dutch military lined up the men and killed almost all of the male population.

The widows of Rawagedeh and their children sued the Dutch state not only for the execution of their husbands and fathers, but also for failing to investigate the massacre. They wanted the Netherlands to acknowledge the unlawfulness of its actions, and sought financial compensation for their loss.

Like the British state, the Dutch had also argued that the statute of limitations had expired. But according to the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity there is no statute of limitations on war crimes, or crimes against humanity.

The Netherlands, however, like many other Western countries, is one of the states that did not ratify the convention.

But the Netherlands did ratify the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court – after all, the court is at The Hague. However, according to the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court the court can only prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity committed on or after July 1, 2002 – the day it came into being. This is not dissimilar to the House of Lords judgement cited in the Batang Kali judgement of 4 Sept 2012.

Gracious and Glorious if Kate & Will Apologised for British State

It will therefore only be a matter of time before the British state will be forced to face up to its moral responsibility to the Commonwealth and follow the example of the Dutch government. In this the Queen’s diamond jubilee year celebrations, would it not be a gracious and glorious gesture for Kate and Will to openly apologise to the families of the victims of the Batang Kali massacre during their Kuala Lumpur visit in a few months’ time?

Britain has always tried to project a self-image that is civilized, dignified and humanistic. Apologists for the British Empire have painted a romantic picture of colonialists setting their colonies “on the road to modernity…” The ideology of colonialism, which rationalized and justified oppression and exploitation, has distorted Malayan history and this history has been passed intact to their local custodians (foreign lackeys?). The smokescreen of ‘defeating communism’ was used to justify atrocities such as Batang Kali 1948. Notice that the Malaysian government has kept a guilty silence over this case despite hounding Mat Sabu over Bukit Kepong.

Without accounting for past transgressions, the British state will remain for ever trapped in history and the families of the 24 men massacred at Batang Kali will keep reminding the British state that they have a moral responsibility to apologise for the tragedy and to compensate the families for the senseless loss of their loved ones. The claimants have already notified their lawyers to appeal to the higher courts forthwith…

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Anything and everyone, except APARTHEID against ENTIRE minority communities nearly 40% of the population eh? Dr Kua Kia Soong is becoming a rubbish academic that supports Bumiputra APARTHEID by sidelining EQUALITY in this tacit approval manner. A Crime against Humanity is as much an academic that ignores *CURRENTLY ONGOING* APARTHEID that affect near 40% of the population as ‘Rawagedeh 1947 Massacres’ which are only relevant to less than 1% of the population. Dr Kua Kia Soong is a useless APARTHEID ignoring academic! If still no word on APARTHEID, then KKS is but a BN insider-colluder to keep apartheid ongoing!

Rafizi (second from right) speaking at the public forum in Kuala Lumpur on September 13, 2012. With him are other members of the panel. Rafizi said people are forced to buy cars because of the poor public transportation system. — Pictures by Choo Choy May
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — PKR’s Rafizi Ramli last night scoffed at Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir’s rebuttal to Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) plan to reduce car prices, mocking the deputy minister for his alleged lack of understanding of “how cars are sold” and the government’s Approved Permit (AP) system for imported vehicles.

The PKR chief strategist, when kicking off PR’s forum series for its “Reduce Car Prices” campaign here, said it was clear that Mukhriz, the son of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, “certainly does not understand the open market mechanism”. “We have waited over two months for a response from Mukhriz to our proposal. He is the one who controls the AP system… two months and I had already given up hope. “But now he has responded strongly on the basis of saying that our suggestion to auction the APs will not reduce car prices. I am sure Mukhriz does not understand how cars are sold.

“I don’t think he even understands the AP system and certainly does not understand the open market mechanism… he has been confined to a controlled environment for too long,” Rafizi told the public forum at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.

As a part of PR’s plan to slash the triple tax burden imposed on cars sold in Malaysia, PKR had in July proposed auctioning off APs for imported vehicles through an open bidding process in the first three years under PR’s rule before abolishing the system entirely in 2015. When announcing the proposal, Rafizi had explained that if an estimated 70,000 APs are awarded every year, the auction should fetch more than RM3 billion in revenue annually for the government. This, he explained last night, would help compensate for part of the RM7 billion in annual losses expected from PR’s plan to slash excise duties, which currently run as high as 105 per cent.

But in his response to the suggestion earlier yesterday, Mukhriz had criticised the idea, saying that it goes against logic as an auction would only cause the price of each AP to go higher than the current RM10,000 that the government currently charges.

Rafizi, however, repeated that the auction would help raise government income, which could in turn compensate for the potential losses from the PR plan to cut excise duties. Explaining further later, his PR colleague from the DAP, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, pointed out that by auctioning off APs, the income from the sale of the permits would go directly into the government’s pockets.

“When we auction off the APs, those genuinely importing cars will still continue to purchase the permits and the government gets the money, instead of the middlemen who have special access to these APs.

“We all know that 80 per cent of APs go to 20 per cent of the companies applying for them,” he said.

During the forum, which was also attended by panellists Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, the PAS Kuala Selangor MP, and IDEAS chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan, it was also explained that PR’s plan to slash car prices would not translate into a greater population of cars on Klang Valley’s already crowded roads.

Pua pointed out that the current “vehicle-to-individual” ratio in the Klang Valley has already surpassed one vehicle to a person, jokingly pointing out that “when a baby is born, that child already has a car”.

He explained that with this in mind, this meant that the reduction of car prices would not increase the density of vehicles on the road as an individual could only drive one vehicle at a time.

“So even if you decided to purchase another car, the ratio on the road is already one vehicle to a person… how many cars can you drive at any one time? You can only drive one car at a time,” he pointed out to laughter from the audience.

Rafizi had earlier explained this as “transportation elasticity”, which he said was a measurement of the likelihood that an individual would decide to purchase a vehicle or opt for public transport based on a variety of variables.

He pointed out that at present, the high rate of vehicle ownership in Malaysia was largely due to the poor public transportation system, making it a “necessity” for an individual to purchase cars.

Should public transportation be improved, Rafizi said it would no longer be a necessity to own vehicles and the reduction of car prices would eventually be translated into an interest to “upgrade” current vehicles.

“After all, we know that even though half of those in the Klang Valley earn incomes of less than RM2,000, they tend to own cars.

“Meaning, this has nothing to do with being poor or rich, they are forced to own cars because of the poor transport system. Therefore, lowering car taxes will not mean they will buy more cars, it only means they might upgrade,” he said.

Concurring with Rafizi’s view, Pua said the government could opt to spend some RM1.5 billion to increase the number of buses plying Klang Valley roads to reduce traffic congestion, instead of the estimated more than RM50 billion for the Klang Valley MRT project, the country’s most expensive infrastructure project to date.

He pointed out that in Singapore, which has a land mass that is smaller than the Klang Valley but a similar population size, there are some 3,300 buses on the streets, on top of its “fantastic MRT system”.

“Here, we only had 800 and this year, we increased to 1,000 buses… and we are a more dispersed population but we have a tremendous shortfall in buses,” he said.

Rafizi also earlier also raised a suggestion to introduce a “car scrap policy” in Malaysia once PR’s policies are rolled out, pointing out that the increasing volume of cars on the road (10.3 million in the Klang Valley) was largely due to a lack of such a policy.

Under a typical car scrap policy, a vehicle that is 10 years old would have to be sold off to be reconditioned.

“But at present, a car scrap policy cannot be implemented due to the huge microeconomic impact on the people because cars are now just too expensive for people to buy again every every five or 10 years,” he said.

During the forum, Dzulkefly also pointed out that PR’s plan to reduce car prices by slashing taxes would ultimately help reduce household debt, which currently stands at RM653 billion, or 80 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

No love of classic or antique or collector’s cars eh? People of the free world have a right to own cars and maintain cars for as long as they like. This scrap car policy Singapore style is oppressive of people who love and maintain their old cars with care (part of the fun is funding spare parts or even manufacturing or fitting new ones to the old vehicle, another bit of creativity stifling law if anything . . . ), and does not respect the rights of people to do whatever that is not obviously criminal or destructive. Owning a car that is 10 years or older is NOT a criminal act. Preventing others from owning a car more than 10 years is criminal, hence Pakatan Rakyat becomes like Singapore which has tolls and disallows cars older than 10 years (none of any politician or law writer’s business what cars people want to own or how old those cars can be) and has not even ended apartheid as well. Rafizi obviously does not understand democratic principles as much as Mukhriz does not understand that AP is ILLEGAL and mere shameless rent seeking in policy off the backs of those who like imported cars. Pakatan hence is UNVOTABLE for another reason including refusing to end AP.

Vote for 3rd Force for a real democracy. The Pakatan mindset is very clear now no thanks to PAP’s influence on DAP and hence Pakatan! Even PAS has appeared to have crumbled in refusing to discuss removal of the Toll system for mere profit and greed, on top of promoting hudud! The Prophet would label all Toll collectors and those who allow Tolls as highwaymen! Meanwhile as the ugly corporatist uncontrolled Capitalist streak in Pakatan is revealed, BN is still apartheid and though able to grant :

;does not, so BN remains useless and hateful by not using that madate BN already has, thus only 3rd Force can make a difference.

mini-ARTICLE 8.5

Esplanade traders demand explanation from Guan Eng by Zalinah Noordin

A GROUP of 300 traders and hawkers is giving the state government two days to explain why they were not allowed to do business at the Esplanade. Small and Medium Entrepreneurs Association (Ikhlas) president, Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, said that if they failed to get a satisfactory explanation, they would go to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s office to demand an answer. According to Ridzuan, Lim is ruling the state with an iron fist, causing much suffering to small-time Malay and Indian businessmen.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

No comment! Expected bad behaviour from the PR 90% failed campaign promise political coalition, that is no better than a BN 90% MPs being apartheid causing/accepting or lapdog coalition that has written Toll Booths, Forced Conscriptions, Vehicular APs and anti-LGBT legislation, disenfranchising dhimmifying policies with moral police and unamended civil laws dating from the Victorian era which even affect the seculars and non-Muslims in flawed civil laws of a bygone era.

LAND RIGHTS ROAD SHOW: Santok (second from left) and his cousins next to his house which will be demolisged. His proposed association aims to highlight the rights of the poor through rallies, demonstrations and memorandums.

SEVERAL families in Kampung Boundary 5 have decided to turn misfortune around by cooperating to create awareness on the rights of the minority.

About 10 Sikh families, embroiled in a legal suit after losing their land and homes to a private developer, have rounded up others in Penang who had suffered a similar fate.

Santok Singh, protem chairman of the proposed Land Rights Defenders Association, said the association, which had not been registered yet, includes residents, mostly of Indian ethnicity, from six villages, namely Kampung Chetty (Batu Ferringhi), Kampung Tanjung Tokong, Kampung Nenas

“We have been trying to find ways to highlight our problems for six months,” said Santok, 46, a bank cashier.

“Nobody has shown concern for our plight.

“We have to fight for our rights because we cannot rely on politicians.

“Most of us are facing eviction by developers who want our land for their ventures.

“It won’t be long before developers swoop in to buy over the other villages and render all of us homeless.

“Some villagers are sitting ducks, just waiting their turn to be evicted.”

Santok is among a handful in Kampung Boundary 5 facing a bleak future after about 200 families, afraid of becoming homeless, accepted compensation by developer Bersatu Stabil Sdn Bhd in 2009.

He said the compensation was not enough to purchase a home where more than one family could stay, a long-practised village tradition.

A father of two teenagers, he lamented that developers did not know the way of life of poor families.

“When our forefathers settled here, the landowners were often employers who assured that they could stay for as long as they wanted. Their forefathers imagined their children’s future would be secure,” he told The Malay Mail.

The group wants to send a memorandum to the prime minister and organise rallies educating the poor on their rights.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Address APARTHEID and this problem will be easier to deal with. If the Malay Reserve Land law is replaced with a all Malaysians equal law, much land that could house and support would be homeless villagers could be released to the communities as mentioned above. Under current Malay Reserve Land laws, we have lots of land that cannot be distributed to the truly needy regardless of race.

;of which Malay Reserve Land is obviously incompatible and illegal for Malaysia is a signatory of the UNHCR and a member of the Human Rights Council.

ARTICLE 10

DAP challenged to name key ministers – Saturday June 2, 2012

MUAR: MCA has challenged DAP to name four key ministers should Pakatan Rakyat take over Putrajaya in the general election.

Party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said he could accept DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng’s claim that the party’s political struggle did not include wanting to hold ministerial posts.

“As a rakyat and voter, I want DAP to tell us who will be the ministers of finance, education, defence and international trade,” said Dr Chua.

“Be concerned for the rakyat because they are concerned over who will those ministers be.

“It is not fair for the rakyat to see them fighting for power if they come into power,” he told reporters at the Muar Welfare and Vision Association anniversary dinner here on Thursday.

Dr Chua also dared DAP to state its stand over claims the Kedah government had approved a RM36bil hydrocarbon hub project and other projects in the state without open tenders.

He questioned why DAP, “which emphasises a lot on open tender, has not spoken up on the issue”.

Kedah Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang had claimed that the Sungai Limau Hydrocar-bon Hub project in Yan was awarded to a private firm without an open tender.

He also claimed that three other projects — the RM500mil Aman Central shopping centre, the RM109mil Amansuri Residences and the RM330mil permanent campus of Kolej Universiti Insaniah — were awarded without open tenders.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Best that politicians ESPECIALLY MPs, are not holding Minister’s posts to ensure distribution of political power. Ministers should come from 2 relevantly experienced and trained groups as detailed below :

(i) the retired bureaucracy which worked in the Ministry (they who worked decades in the Ministry are the most familiar and most deserving and most skilled, NOT the MP trash that are already overstaying 2 terms), or
(ii) related Professional association Members though not Committee (i.e. Bar Council for Law Minister, Architect’s Association for Transport and Housing Ministry, ex-Military for Defence Ministers, ex-Police for Home Ministry etc..) 1 or 2 term limited stints.

That way, distribution of power is better and the people are protected from Wakil Parti and greedy MPs, and politicians or cronies that become billionaires after even after 1 term. GLC contracts are NOT rewards for voting, and the best way to prevent such MP to GLC collusion, is to rewrite the law to disallow MPs from becoming Ministers with only the decades experienced personnel that served the country in the appropriate field. In fact even the degree appropriateness and level should be considered, for example a Home Minister might only be from retired police BUT only with doctorate/phd level degrees in Policing or Degrees in Security rather than MBAs or Engineering degree holders who happened to be in the police force for decades. Refer to the below article on how ridiculous suggesting Kit Siang for Home Minister is.

DAP sec-gen Lim says he is convinced that Sabah can become the richest state in the country if the oil royalty is increased from 5% to 20%.

KOTA KINABALU: Pakatan Rakyat has promised to reinstate Sabah and Sarawak’s original position as equal partners in the Federation of Malaysia, if it comes to power.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng made the pledge during a visit to the state to attend a Pakatan Rakyat organised Malaysia Day celebration today in Tuaran, about 40 minutes drive from here.

Lim who is also the Penang Chief Minister said that to ensure that Sabah and Sarawak benefit being equal partners in the Federation, the new government would specifically focus on addressing the imbalance in oil revenue, infrastructure development, water and electricity supply and land reform as well as the issue of illegal immigrants in the state.

On the oil royalty that the state currently receives from the government-owned oil firm Petronas for pumping out the commodity, he said it would be raised from 5% to 20%.

He said this was imperative so that the two states could build up their infrastructure, improve education facilities and combat the high level of poverty.

Lim said he was convinced that Sabah could become the richest state in the country if the oil royalty is increased from 5% to 20%.

“The disgraceful state of infrastructures in Sabah and Sarawak must be improved and this includes the airports and ports in Sabah and Sarawak.

“To be an equal partner in the Federation of Malaysia, you must have consistent and regular supply of water and electricity and also internet connectivity via free wifi in public places.

“As for the illegal immigrants issue, we shall ensure that with the inquiry conducted by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants, action will be taken against those who are responsible and how to stop and resolve this problem,” he said.

Pakatan is also targeting a land policy.

“Land must be given to the people, not to political leaders. CM, excos, MPs, state assemblymen, and even district councillors are not qualified to apply for state lands. If they want to apply, then they must resign and become ordinary citizens, then only they can apply. Only ordinary people are qualified to apply,” he said.

Following the (flawed) Penang way

A Pakatan government, he said, would also ensure that the original status of land would not be diminished on conversion, as happens now in Sabah and Sarawak where the land lease has been slashed from 999 years to 99 years. The opposition also promises land leases will be automatically renewed and premiums slashed by 90%.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

A sovereign independent East Malaysia will get 100%. Lim Guan Eng is an idiot for offering even 20%. Even under Pakatan will both Sarawak and Sabah still be beggars and orphans IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY. Who needs 20% when they can have 100%? Equality is 50% not 20%. Lim has insulted Sarawak and Sabah by not offering 50% at very least. In fact to be fair Sabah and Sarawak being the source of wealth should keep 75% and only give 25% to the Pebninsular. Who gets the fund or get the right to disburse the funds? ONLY Sarawak and Sabah can decide not Pakatan Coalition or BN coalition.

And here we have ‘lesser evil’ Pakatan daring to offer 20% (even as BN is 4 times worse, offering only 5%). One does not have to be a Sarawakian or Sabahan to see the terrible insult here when the word ‘equality’ is used. Equality means 50%. This is Pakatan being a lesser EVIL but still VERY evil and VERY GREEDY. That wealth belongs to Sarawakians and Sabahans at 100%. Sarawakian or Sabahan should decide what goes to the Peninsular much less allow BN or Pakatan dare to say what they get from their own territories. Pakatan gives 20% and calls that EQUALITY? I am shocked by Pakatan’s duplicity and self centered shamelessness, which obviously includes accpeting APARTHEID of BUMIPUTRA’s INEQUALITY. If this is ‘Penang’s Way’ little wonder APARTHEID has not ended yet and 90% of campaign promises by DAP have not been upheld, in otherwords a BN replacement in the form of PR.

Pakatan is not that much better than BN, please Sarawakian or Sabahans, vote for 3rd force who I propose will give 100% to the Sarawakian or Sabahan Rakyat to decide how much Peninsular Malaysia will get instead of the insulting 20% ‘Equality’. PR is as bad as BN!

ARTICLE 12

Johor Sultan SMARTER than Zahid: Why is Army paying more for the same vehicles? – Saturday, 15 September 2012 12:15

The claim by the Sultan of Johor that he paid some half-a-million ringgit less than the amount paid by the government to purchase a Rapid Intervention Vehicle (RIV) has prompted Pakatan Rakyat to repeat its call for a Parliamentary Oversight Committee (POC) to oversee spending by the Defence ministry.

Petaling Jaya Utara member of parliament Tony Pua said the Malaysian public was not confident in any investigation conducted by the ministry.

Pua said it was critical for the BN government to support the call in line with procurement transparency as promoted under the Government Transformation Programme.

“After all, if all the above transactions are of value for money to the Government, then surely there is nothing to hide from this independent panel,” he said in a statement.

Multiple times higher

Defence minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said that he would find out why there was a difference in prices of the RIV bought by the Sultan at RM150,000 and the ones sold to the government at RM690,000 each.

Sultan Ibrahim Ismail had earlier lamented that low quality military equipment were being sold at “multiple times higher”.

Pua recalled that Zahid had not long ago accused the former of being a foreign agent for exposing exorbitant deals by the ministry.

Pua also questioned the purchase of six littoral combatant ships (LCS) even after the cost ballooned by 50 percent from RM6 billion to RM9 billion, as well as the acquisition of 257 armoured personnel vehicles (APVs) costing RM7.55 billion last year.

-Harakahdaily

Commentator comments :

@andymerdeka Saturday, 15 September 2012 17:44 posted by andymerdeka

Zahid does not have to pretend that he does not know about over payment of more than half a million ringgit. This is the standard modus operandi of UMNO/BN to make money for themselves thro govt contracts. UMNO does not fight for the Malays. UMNO fight for the select few and those in power in order they can continue to enrich themselves. Will Malays suffer without UMNO? I dont think so. In fact by stopping them from continuing their corruption, the Malays will have better quality of life; cheap cars, free education, cheaper houses, better public transport, cheaper taxis, etc.

The choice is clear. Vote UMNO/BN, Malays and Malaysians will continue to suffer from their mismanagement and corruption.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This sort of collusion is endemic throughout Malaysian governance. One cannot prevent this if 40% of the population has become a 2nd class citizen driven to desperation and hence collusion for corruption out of necessity or out of greed. I hope the Sultan understands that without :

;the disenfrnchisement of the Indians and Chinese and Orang Asli will lead to further anger that will further fuel corruption and destroy the nation, even as bureaucrats seek Special privileges like funeral funds worth the level of a lifetime or 2 of work, in an obvious abuse of power from the taxpayers.

The Special privileges for Malays was intended by the Reid Commission to last 15 years only before review for removal, a word broken in this manner will have deeper spiritual effects that will damn all involved in contination or tacit approvals of such continuance through inaction. Are there no righteous men left in Malaysia?

Young voters will be kingmakers in elections, says Khairy NEWS/COMMENTARIES Saturday, 16 June 2012 Super Admin

(The Star) – Young voters will be the kingmakers of the next general election, as they make up almost 40% of the electorate. Barisan Nasional Youth chief Khairy Jamalluddin said the support of the youth would “make or break” the party’s future, and called for the youth movement to continue engaging their peers.

“Calculations and projections show that the result (of the election) will depend on new voters, and many of the new voters are young voters. They will be kingmakers,” he told reporters after launching the PPP Youth convention here on Saturday.

He said that research conducted early this year indicated that 62% of young voters have yet to decide on whom to vote for and Khairy called on youth leaders to reach out to them.

“Many young voters are still neutral, and we must engage them. Not through traditional political programmes like ceramahs, as most who attend ceramahs have already decided.

“We can have outreach and community projects through institutions of higher learning and non-governmental organisations,” he said.

There are some two million new voters out of a total of 13 million, and Khairy said it would be a challenge convincing them as they “have a mind of their own”.

“They still read the mainstream newspapers, but they also read the online portals and are active on social media. They will read everything and decide which argument they believe in,” he said.

To drive the point home, Khairy, who is Rembau MP, used his constituency as an example.

“In 2008, there were 60,000 voters in Rembau, and now there are 73,000. I won by a 6,000 majority.

“If all 13,000 of new voters are against me, I can close shop,” he said.

While he admitted that it was tiring to remain in a constant state of preparedness, Khairy called on Barisan youth members to continue their hard work to win over the people.

“It is very tiring with a moving election date,” he said, referring to speculations which predicted the general election would be held late last year, and early and middle of this year.

He said Barisan Youth have been ready since last year and had been “sprinting a 100m race since”.

“But in reality we are running a marathon at a sprinting pace,” he said.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

No kingmakers will be kingmakers at all as long as they are racists. There is nothing kingly about wanting to keep an apartheid system in place. And a true Maker never would accept apartheid. Those who have had their 2 terms and done nothing except generate bad feelings in near 2/3rds of the world’s populations should step aside. Those who have never raised racism before will be better choices as ‘kingmakers’.

ARTICLE 2

UMNO and its hijacking of an Ancient Covenant – FROM AROUND THE BLOGS – Saturday, 16 June 2012 Super Admin – SAKMONGKOL AK47

Nizar jamaludin, former MB of Perak is in a pickle nowadays. We can’t leave him alone though because he represents the people. What happens to him could also happen to us later when we, out of public spiritedness raise an issue involving the royalty. So, the rakyat must continue to speak because, we actually do remember the tenets of Malay customs and etiquette.

I can’t offer Nizar Jamaludin any ideas on how to resolve his predicament with the Johor Monarchy. Perhaps he may have to offer momentary lapse of memory as defense. He has simply forgotten an important ingredient in Malay custom. He will not suffer embarrassment if he adopts this defense because others more prominent than him have chosen to adopt selective recollection. Mahathir forgot so many things when faced with the issue on the VK Lingam tapes. Or Nizar embraces humility and admits that he is stupid in this area.

But which part of the Malay custom are we talking about? This article seeks to explore the corruption of a very important component of the Malay customs and etiquette – his relationship with the Malay ruler. That relationship is represented by a code of conduct expressed in the avowal Pantang Melayu Derhaka! This is probably the part of the Malay customs and etiquette which is referred to. This is the underlying and awe-inspiring code of conduct that regulates the relationship of the Malay subject with his ruler. Pushed to its extreme form, this code of conduct leads to the blasphemous deification of another human being. That however is a separate matter best left to Islamic theologians to debate as the deification of another human being, means making the human equal to the Almighty.

This subject has recently come to the fore when Nizar the former MB of Perak tweeted his discomfort on the amount of money spent to acquire a car number plate. His tweet invited the ire of Johor youths. UMNO youth Johor was quick to exploit the issue. What was it that Nizar said that raised so much venomous response from the axe to- grind UMNO youths?

Can the unease of one person upset the whole institutional structure that has always upheld the position of Malay Monarchy? Nizar’s grumblings were not directed at the person of the ruler or at the institution. What Nizar did was to raise the issue of indecent spending. This wasn’t a case of disputing whose money it is. Even if it’s your money, if it’s applied in a controversial manner, ownership of the money is irrelevant. Nizar said out loud his opinion against the `idea’ of indecent spending. The better idea on such a large amount of money would be to apply it to socially beneficial ends.

When the late Zakaria built his mansion amidst the squalor of Pandamaran a few years back, the issue was the building of a palatial home amidst the hovels in Pandamaran. The behavior was indecent.

Since the issue has been politicized, we will take it from there. So, now we are interested in the politics behind the avowal. The Malay Monarchy is the symbol into which is invested special meanings which are sometimes operated as tool for political expediencies. In the hands of UMNO, the special meanings invested are mostly used for political convenience as exemplified in the recent gathering of the so called absolute loyalists before the Johor Monarch.

Would anyone subscribe to the view that behind the pretentious display of undying loyalty, it’s only UMNO that upholds the institution of the Malay monarch? If anyone does, then he has forgotten that in 1993, it was UMNO which mobilized the whole nation into a frenzy demanding doing the King Philip and Marie Antoinette thing on the Malay Monarch.

Because in the hands of manipulative UMNO, the primordial code of conduct is now being used as the measure of one’s Malayness, loyalty and patriotism all at once. The Malay who appears as straying from the measure is to be taken as someone who has violated the meaning of being Malay. In UMNO’s twisted political lexicon, unconditional loyalty to the institution of the Malay monarch forms an indispensable and mandatory cultural DNA. Without which, one ceases to be Malay enough deserving of support and communion with fellow Malays.

The avowal can universally be translated to mean, the people shall never be disloyal to the king. The term disloyal is used in its most general forms. The common man never trespass the king in any way and form; never shall he insult the king in mind, never speak evil and more so does not commit trespass of the person upon the king. The term treason is also a close description. Used in these terms, UMNO and its surrogate NGOs can then brand Nizar, his party and all those who support Nizar as unMalay, unpatriotic and disloyal. It is this vicious use that we are now objecting. UMNO cannot now claim to be sanctimonious when what they attempted to do to the Malay Monarchy in 1993 was clearly worse and disloyal.

We turn to the venerable Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals to search for the origins of this avowal. It is there, that this covenant which was to form the basis to measure the Malay’s cultural affinity and ethnic oneness originated.

Commentator Comments :

…
written by malsia1206, June 16, 2012 17:49:02
The Johore Sultan was reported to be angry with Nizar for having made his comments which HRH said Nizar knew nothing much. If that be so, why did HRH not take upon himself the opportunity to come out with his explanation where and how Nizar had erred?
HRH has the right to a rebuttal. Instead, he took a swipe at Nizar. Next, we see this rally of thosands gathering to support the Royalty.
These do not get us anywhere nearer to how, why and whether it makes sense to spend RMxxx on a certain specific car plate number. To each his own, yes, that I can agree. But remember when you are holding that special prerogative of a high-end position, your personal action is naturally and nevertheless subject to scrutiny as long as it was not done mala-fide or with any ill-intention.
Nizar was quick to extend his apology if his remarks were taken to hurt any one. But, for his good unexplained reason(s), HRH seemed to have gone for the jugular. That’s my impression, anyway.
+12

…
written by singhkris, June 16, 2012 17:12:05
We hear all kinds of edicts from Their Royal Highnesses – Malays must unite, dont take part in assemblies, dont politicise water. Malaysia fares very badly in the corruption index every year. Can we hear something from Their Highnesses regularly to condemn corruption?

…
written by Aku, June 16, 2012 14:43:08
The question is do the royalties know that the rakyat accorded them special privilege to rule with justice and kindness? They are under the sovereignty of the Almighty, just like everyone else, and the rakyat trust the Almighty. When a royalty does something indecent, he is to be judged according to the privilege, with the same condition of justice and kindness, the rakyat accorded him, and his position is not absolute. When they are not aware of this special privilege, and take it upon themselves to abuse it, the rakyat have every right to question.
+33

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The common man never trespass the king in any way and form; never shall he insult the king in mind, never speak evil and more so does not commit trespass of the person upon the king. True . . . EXCEPTING, the UNCOMMON man, and also anytime where unkingly behaviour is displayed by a king needing reminder that the behaviour (in most cases neglect of Asabiya and UNHCR Article 1 non-compliance for Malaysia’s case) must be corrected. This is part logos (the only criteria) versus ethos of ‘Kinghood’ and the ability of the incautious or undiplomatic (i.e. those who communicate offensively) to escape to proxy countries. And those who resort to pathos have no standing on issues that clearly demarcate what is civilised behaviour and fair treatment.

I quite like the way people in authority attempt to solve various problems in Malaysia.

A long time ago, safety helmets were made compulsory for every motorcyclist and pillion rider. Thereafter, some smarty-pants wore helmets with visors to rob banks. Although I was still in school at that time, I remember the so-called solution which our authority came up with to solve that problem. They simply banned helmets with visors. Problem solved, right?

Many years ago there were concerns over deaths caused by accidents involving water-scooters in Penang beaches. Of course, before everybody could finish saying “water-scooters”, I remember some hot-shots proposed that water-scooters be banned. Fortunately that did not happen..

The best of the lot is the efforts taken by some of our so-called ulamaks to sove the problem of Muslims having very weak “aqidah” or faith.

Muslims in Malaysia must be among the weakest when it comes to “aqidah.” After all, a Parliementarian readily told the Parliament last year, if I am not mistaken, that Malaysian men cannot “tahan” to see their wife (or wives) cooking in the kitchen when they come back from work. The wife (or wives) must thus be ready to have sex with the men there and then. This was, and is still, of course readily agreed to by the Obedient Wives Club which also advocates, among others, spiritual sex. (I think the OWC took the idea of spiritual sex from the cyber sex or phone sex phenomenon).

Sorry, I digress.

Yes, Muslims in Malaysia are very weak in their “aqidah”. Solutions, anybody? Yes, ban the poco-poco dance. Ditto Valentine’s Day celebration. In Bangi, someone actually said cinemas should not be built. What else ya? Oh, yes. Electronic Bible. Ban it please. While we are it, why don’t we ban the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia as well, right? That would be a hollistic approach. Yes. Superb.

If those were not enough, we should then have a seminar titled “Strengthening the Faith, the Dangers of Liberalism and Pluralism and the Threat of Christianity towards Muslims. What is the Role of Teachers?”.

Of course, recently, we have the Erykah Badu banning. All because of some art work on her body. The most recent is Irshad Manji’s book. Over in Indonesia recently, they went gaga over a Lady Gaga concert. You all know the result, right? Yes. What else but a ban.

Looking at the trend, the enemies of Islam are not just the Israelies, the Jews, the United States and their allies. The most potent poison one could unleash against us, Mulims, is nothing but women, apparently. Send Irshad Manji and that’s it, 15 million Muslims would lose their faith soon. Send in Lady Gaga and hundreds of millions of Muslims would be out of their Islamic mind sooner than one could spell “Gaga.”

Malaysia is, however, not alone when it comes to banning things. China, which coincidentally invented paper, started banning books on philosophy which came from anywhere other than the state of Qin in the 3rd century BC. In fact, China is still leading the way in this area of socio-illogical move. Most recent is its banning of Kate Winslet’s breast in Titanic 3D movie for fear of the men reaching out to touch them in the cinema. Classic.

Books seems to be the favourite for this activity. In this regards, Islam is not the only religion in whose name books were banned. The Catholic Church had forced Peter Abelard to burn his own book, which consisted, among others, his interpretation of the Trinitarian. There was also a time when the Bible was prohibited from being translated into the vernacular. And guess what? The Catholic Church also used to have issues with Greek plays as well as Arabic and Jewish texts. Hmm…déjà vu?

In England, Henry VIII led the way. He actually did not like William Tynedale’s version of the Bible and had it, of course, banned. Not enough with that, he burned him at the stake.

Meanwhile, the “greatest nation on Earth”, aka the US of A, is not spared with this desease as well. In Masachussettes, the Quaker texts were banned. And of course, they also hanged witches at Salem. Boston saw the imprisonment of Ann Austin and Mary Fischer for texts which offended the then acting-Governor.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Apartheid staring in the face and Art talks about Valentines . . . diverting attention from apartheid again, eh Art? What a fart. Obscurist sympathies for apartheid huffed obliquely are cowardly and meaningless.

THE Federal Constitution is not biased against the religious belief or gender of any citizen but does not say anything about one’s sexual orientation, the House heard.

“While Article 8 protects one from gender discrimination, the word ‘gender’ should not be interpreted as a person’s sexual inclination, such as being a lesbian, gay or bisexual,” Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim said.

“The protection given by the Federal Constitution is meant for men and women,” she told Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (DAP-Beruas) who said the Government should not use religion when dealing with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender) issues and should have laws applicable to all.

Dr Mashitah said following an edict by the Fatwa Council that sex change is haram (forbidden in Islam), the National Registration Department does not allow a man who had undergone sex change to be described as a woman.

She added that the person is also not allowed to make changes to his name in his identity card.

“The Fatwa Council, which had discussed the issue, had said any surgery undergone by a person to change his or her sex is against the religion.

“Only those born with two sex organs can undergo an operation (in favour of either gender).

Therefore, the NRD will have to adhere to the decision made by the council,” Dr Mashitah said in reply to Datuk Mohd Jidin Shafee (BN-Setiu).

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Oh yes there is bias. Try a UN Human Rights angle and Malaysia gets thrown out of the Human Rights Council

“The Fatwa Council, which had discussed the issue, had said any surgery undergone by a person to change his or her sex is against the religion.

However what about non-Muslim Malays AND Muslims Malays who have gone apostate? What is the NRD’s view on these persons who might want to be registered as a 3rd gender as per their given Human Rights? See below link for unresolved LGBT issues :

I am an anarchist and proud of it – NO HOLDS BARRED – Thursday, 21 June 2012 Super Admin – Raja Petra Kamarudin

Do you know what people like me are called? They would call me an anarchist. Anarchists are opposed to all forms of government. Anarchists are against all forms of domination and control. All governments are bad. All forms of domination and control are bad. So I am an anarchist and proud of it.

‘You miss the point, RPK’.

‘Don’t turn this into a racial issue, RPK’.

‘You need to look at the big picture, RPK’.

‘We need to focus, RPK’.

‘We first need to change the government, RPK’.

‘The corruption in BN is much worse, RPK’.

‘BN is racist, RPK’.

‘What choice do we have? We have been oppressed for more than 50 years, RPK’.

‘We are not against the Malays, just against the Umno Malays, RPK’.

‘What do you expect? The Chinese have faced discrimination for more than 50 years, RPK’.

‘Compare things with the Chinese-run Singapore or Penang and you can see the big difference, RPK’.

‘When we had a Chinese Finance Minister like Tan Siew Sin things were much better, RPK’.

‘The Chinese got rich through hard work, RPK’.

‘The Malays want a shortcut to wealth, RPK’.

‘Criticising the opposition is helping Barisan Nasional to stay in power, RPK’.

‘You are confusing the voters, RPK’.

‘We should talk about all this only after Pakatan Rakyat takes over, RPK’.

‘After Pakatan Rakyat takes over we can clean out the rot in Pakatan Rakyat, RPK’.

‘If you do not support Pakatan then you must be a Barisan stooge, RPK’.

That and much more are the arguments that many readers normally put forward to justify and defend their stand. This is called ‘working backwards’. You take a stand and then you defend that belief with an argument. Religionists use this same method and considering that 80% or so of the world believes in a religion means that this method is very effective.

How do you prove that God exists? God exists because we are here. The fact that we are here means some higher power must have created us. Hence that higher power has to be God. So, since we exist, then God must also exist. If God did not exist then we would not be here.

Does this make sense? It certainly does to those who believe in a religion.

So and so is our Prophet sent down by God. And our Prophet told us that he is the true Prophet and that his religion is the true religion. How do you know this? The Holy Book says so. Where did this Holy Book come from? It came from our Prophet and was written by the followers of our Prophet more than 100 years after he died.

Does this make sense? It certainly does to those who believe in a religion.

So you see, any argument is a good argument if you already believe in something. Your belief is intact. It does not waver. It is only that you need to justify and defend this belief. So the argument is not to help you believe. You already believe. The argument is to explain and justify your belief and make it sound sensible and credible.

You already believe in your religion. You already believe in your Prophet. You already believe that there is a God. Your arguments are to make sense of a belief that would not normally make sense unless you can argue your belief. In that same spirit, you already have a political belief. And to make sense of this political belief you also need to put forward various arguments to defend this belief.

This is called arguing in circles. Arguing in circles would be as follows. My religion is correct because my Prophet says so. My Prophet is correct because the Holy Book says so. The Holy Book is correct because it came from God through my Prophet.

Okay, let’s stop arguing in circles. Today I am going to be blunt and brutal. Today I am going to call a spade a spade. And if you don’t like that then you had better stop reading at this point and go to another Blog or website. Malaysia Today is not for the faint-hearted. Malaysia Today is not for those who like to read nice things and things that dovetail with their belief system. Malaysia Today is not for those who live in denial syndrome. Malaysia Today is no holds barred.

Politicians need businessmen to finance them. Businessmen need politicians to make money. This is so in America, in Japan, in Malaysia, and in most places in the world.

In Malaysia, however, business is the domain of the Chinese while politics is the domain of the Malays. There are, of course, Chinese politicians as there are Malay businessmen. But the Chinese politicians need to kowtow to the Malay politicians just like the Malay businessmen need to ‘Ali Baba’ with the Chinese businessmen.

Hence we need to see ‘unholy alliances’ between the Malays and Chinese. The Chinese have to help the Malays get into power and the Malays need to help the Chinese get business deals. The Chinese need to use their money to help the Malays get into power and the Malays need use their political power to help the Chinese get business deals.

Money is the route to political power and political power is the route to making money. They both need each other. One can’t live without the other. This is so in America, in Japan, in Malaysia, and in most places in the world.

So it does not matter whether it is Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat, just like it does not matter whether it is Islam or Christianity. Both Islam and Christianity apply the same ‘logic’ of arguing in circles. And both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat need the same politics-business alliance formula to make it. Business fuels political power and political power fuels business. Whether in the United States, Japan or Malaysia, it is all the same.

So, yes, we do want to see a two-party system in Malaysia. So, yes, we do want to see a ruling party without hegemony in Parliament and a strong opposition that can keep the ruling party in check. But we need a third force. We need an ‘auditor’. We need a ‘police’ system. And this role must be played by us, the people, the rakyat, the voters.

What is religion? Religion is a system of domination and control. Now, please, I repeat, please do not discuss this in the context of theology. Let us discuss it in the context of history. Theology does not make sense. History does. So I do not want to discuss theology but history.

What was Jesus Christ’s mission? Did Jesus introduce a new religion? Did Jesus tell his disciples, “God sent me to you so that I can introduce a new religion to humankind called Christianity”?

Jesus Christ’s mission was to break down the system of priests and temples, the religious hierarchy, which was a political system. Jesus wanted to end the domination and control that the system had over the people. The religious system was created to control the people. And Jesus wanted to end this control and give power back to the people. Before that power was in the hands of the system.

Hence Jesus Christ was merely a leader of a reform movement, a political movement of that time. And that was why they turned on him. Jesus was a threat to the political system of priests and temples.

Then, 325 years later, the system took back this power and what by then was identified as Christianity again dominated and controlled the people through the creation of a doctrine. And those who resisted were put to death so that eventually only those who embraced the doctrine remained.

Islam went through this same process 425 years later in 750. First the Umayyads grabbed power in 661, 29 years after the death of Muhammad. Then, the Abbasids ousted the Umayyads and grabbed power. Hence Islam went through the same process that Christianity went through 425 years earlier. And to justify things, doctrines (such as Hadiths) were created and those who resisted were killed off, just like what happened in Christendom earlier.

In the end it was all about political power and control over the people. But in those days it was political power through religious doctrine. That was what motivated Emperor Constantine in 325 and also what motivated the Umayyads in 661 and the Abbasids in 750 — political power.

So, how different is it today? Today we have Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. In those days we had the Umayyads and Abbasids and, earlier, the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. The Abbasids created doctrines to justify the ousting of the Umayyads and the Eastern Roman Empire created doctrines to justify the ousting of the Western Roman Empire.

And is not Pakatan Rakyat also creating ‘doctrines’ to justify the ousting of Barisan Nasional?

Ultimately, it was all about control and political power. It still is. So we must make sure that neither Barisan Nasional nor Pakatan Rakyat controls us. Instead, we must control them. And to do that we must reject their doctrine. We need to decide that doctrine.

And that is why politicians are scared of people who are independent-minded, just like religionists are. If we are independent-minded they cannot control us. And politics, just like religion, is about control and power. In fact, religion is power, power over the minds of the people. And is not politics the same?

So, let us look at your arguments again.

‘You miss the point, RPK’.

‘Don’t turn this into a racial issue, RPK’.

‘You need to look at the big picture, RPK’.

‘We need to focus, RPK’.

‘We first need to change the government, RPK’.

‘The corruption in BN is much worse, RPK’.

‘BN is racist, RPK’.

‘What choice do we have? We have been oppressed for more than 50 years, RPK’.

‘We are not against the Malays, just against the Umno Malays, RPK’.

‘What do you expect? The Chinese have faced discrimination for more than 50 years, RPK’.

‘Compare things with the Chinese-run Singapore or Penang and you can see the big difference, RPK’.

‘When we had a Chinese Finance Minister like Tan Siew Sin things were much better, RPK’.

‘The Chinese got rich through hard work, RPK’.

‘The Malays want a shortcut to wealth, RPK’.

‘Criticising the opposition is helping Barisan Nasional to stay in power, RPK’.

‘You are confusing the voters, RPK’.

‘We should talk about all this only after Pakatan Rakyat takes over, RPK’.

‘After Pakatan Rakyat takes over we can clean out the rot in Pakatan Rakyat, RPK’.

‘If you do not support Pakatan then you must be a Barisan stooge, RPK’.

What point is that that I have missed? What big picture? Focus on what?

What choice do you have? You have a choice, a choice to determine your own destiny.

You faced oppression and discrimination for 50 years? Who voted for the same party for 50 years?

No lah, stop justifying and raising lame excuses. You are a victim of your own creation. Nobody did anything to you. You did all this to yourself. For thousands of years, people have allowed themselves to be manipulated, controlled, dominated, oppressed, suppressed, etc. They even created religion and doctrines to legitimise it. And then they scream blue murder.

I can’t see the big picture? Yes, I can. The big picture is very clear to me. It is about not giving anyone power. It is about taking back power. It is about power must be in the hands of the people.

Do you know what people like me are called? They would call me an anarchist. Anarchists are opposed to all forms of government. Anarchists are against all forms of domination and control. All governments are bad. All forms of domination and control are bad. So I am an anarchist and proud of it.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

An anarchist does not say that the OBVIOUSLY APARTHEID AND STRUCTURED (Anarchists do not abide by any structure and apartheid is structured around inequality . . . ) ‘Merdeka Social Contract’ is to be retained. RPK is a FALSE Anarchist who supports apartheid. A crypto-racist par excellence and who knows a self-hating half blood prince. Some of us can live with a REASONABLE amount of laws. Why does RPK subvert the stability and sense of proportion of any would be leaders in the making by lobbing this ‘anarchist’ NLP? Law abiding citizens can also be against all forms of domination and control.

Who needs to be an anarchist? Chipping away from awareness of the hegelian dialectic again I see? Or just parasiting of 99%ter problems to ‘look cool’? Well don’t. Very base and subversive method of destroying the awareness of political opponents of hegelian dialectic, or disrupting the sense of proportion and political bearings of newbie champions from the masses here (so that they cannot navigate the minefield that is Malaysian politics?). Not that RPK is in any viable position to be in politics than some of us are so severely persecuted. Get back to Malaysia RPK, and run for candidacy!

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng appeared to justify today his administration’s decision to ban Umno-controlled newspapers instead of suing them for defamation, saying they continue to publish false reports without giving him the right of reply.

Lim (picture) was speaking to reporters in George Town just after the High Court there found Utusan Malaysia guilty of defaming him for the second time in six months, a decision he called “a victory for press freedom”.

“We welcome all newspapers including those controlled by Barisan Nasional (BN) on condition they report truthfully and give me the right of reply. But the New Straits Times and Utusan refuse me the right of reply.

“There might be upcoming suits but there are false reports by Utusan every day. I cannot sue them every day, only major cases,” the DAP secretary-general said.

A copy of the audio recording was made available to The Malaysian Insider.

Lim has previously defended Penang’s decision to ban Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia, accusing it of being a party organ rather than a newspaper.

This came after reporters protested against the ban on May 3, which is World Press Freedom Day, and the Centre for Independent Journalism said a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government could not guarantee media freedom.

But the Bagan MP said he could not sue the Malay daily “every day” for its “false reports”, so he was left with no option but to bar its reporters from covering any proceedings in Penang in an act of “self-defence.”

The Penang legislative assembly adopted a motion in May 2011 barring the newspaper following unverified reports on the renovation costs of Lim’s rented residence, and an alleged plot by the DAP and the church to turn Malaysia into a Christian state.

The Penang High Court today found Utusan Malaysia guilty of defaming Lim and ordered the Umno daily to pay him RM200,000 in damages and RM250,000 in costs.

The Penang CM had claimed a March 12, 2008 article headlined “Tiada Lagi DEB (No More NEP)” in the Malay-language newspaper which said he would abolish the New Economic Policy was inaccurate.

He added he had merely said his administration would be free from the “cronyism, corruption and systematic inefficiency” stemming from the policy.

The ruling follows the December 2011 judgment by the Penang High Court that an Utusan article titled “Kebiadapan Guan Eng” had “maliciously defamed Lim, and made him and the DAP look as if they are anti-Malay and anti-Islam.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

There is only censorship or freedom of speech. There is no justification for selective persecution that has occurred here against the media. Hating UMNO’s racism is one thing but Guan Eng and hence DAP (which should have DAP members dissociating with Guan Eng’s tyrannical decision to show they are better) is no better than UMNO for trying to justify away the right to free speech. We don’t need CMs like that (especially term unlimited and quorumless installed by their parents) as much as we don’t need UMNO’s racists.

In trying to downplay the “pendatang” (immigrants) slur oft made against non-Malay Malaysians, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is admitting to two things:

Firstly, the failure of his 1Malaysia Policy which he announced when he became Prime Minister 39 months ago with the objective to create a Malaysia where every Malaysian regard himself or herself as Malaysian first and race, religion, region and socio-economic status second;

Secondly, his inability and impotence to do anything to counter and wipe out this divisive and insidious mindset which perpetuates a false, mischievous and anti-national division of Malaysians, which is particularly ludicrous when the first-generation local born of one community could call on a fourth, fifth or sixth-generation local born of another community to “balik China” or “balik India”!

In his dialogue with Chinese youths at University Malaya yesterday, Najib urged the Chinese community not to be offended by people who call them pendatang (immigrants) because such remarks are made by a handful of “lunatics” with “loose screws”.

He said those who utter such remarks intentionally say so to hurt the feelings of the Chinese community and that his administration does not share such views.

He said: “I hope we are not too hurt by one or two comments. In every community, there are always one or two individuals whose heads are not quite right.”

Is it true only one or two loose screws?

Najib’s answer would be most assuring if it is true that it is only “one or two lunatics” with “loose screws” who made such offensive, insidious and anti-national remarks.

However, this is not the case.

In actual fact, the “pendatang” slur is most potent proof of the failure of Malaysian nation-building in the past five decades as well Najib’s 1Malaysia policy, as it is not confined to “one or two lunatics” but infected the highest levels of politics and government because of decades of Biro Tata Negara (BTN) indoctrination of civil servants and public officers.

Najib’s own special officer to the Prime Minister, Datuk Nasir Safar for instance had labeled Indians and Chinese as “pendatang” and added insult to injury in declaring that “Indians came to Malaysia as beggars and Chinese especially women came to sell their bodies”.

Two years ago, at the launch of the Merdeka celebrations of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, Kulai, the school principal Hajah Siti Inshah binti Monsar said:

Malaysians of course still remember the incident in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election in August 2008 where an UMNO division chief referred to the Malaysian Chinese as pendatang orang tumpang and totally untrustworthy Malaysians.

The “pendatang” slur is not the result of “loose screws” of “one or two lunatics” but the result of decades of the poison of anti-national indoctrination by state agencies like the BTN perpetuating Malaysians into two classes of people.

Will Najib do anything concrete

What has the Najib administration done under its 1Malaysia policy to develop an official policy backed up by a national consensus that only “lunatics” with “screws loose” would make the “pendatang” slur, and classifying it as a divisive, treacherous and anti-national point of view which must be condemned by all patriotic and rational Malaysians?

Malaysia will be celebrating our 55th National Day on August 31.

Is Najib prepared to send out a clear and unmistakable message that in line with his 1Malaysia policy, those who continue to regard the Chinese and Indians as “kaum pendatang” are lunatic, positively anti-national who must be condemned by all rational and patriotic Malaysians in unequivocal terms and who should have no place in Malaysian politics or public service?

Lim Kit Siang is the DAP MP for Ipoh Timur

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Writing laws that remove politicians that do not keep campaign promises will be a good start, Mr. Unable-to-Keep-Campaign-Promises and ‘places’ own children in CM’s posts without votes or quorums will be concerete. Removal of term limitless politicians from Dewan will also be concrete. Well Najib, time to give LKS the concrete LKS is asking for. Najib in these statements appears to be targetting the racist lot, good show Najib but for the lack of concrete . . .

;should out the Opposition quite nicely and laws against limitless term MPs should shut LKS and ‘Family Bloc’ DAP, up once and for all. Legislate the above now Najib, for certain that 2nd term will be yours and we will be rid of nepotists on all sides (especially the quorumless CM types placed in power by their fathers), and being such a good guy to protect the Rakyat with teh above from term limitless creeps, could even be a good buffer against that Altantunya case . . .

Is Najib prepared to counter ‘Nepotist’ and ‘Limitless Term’ Mindset FIRST? (Start with DAP’s cliques and dynasties, would be very good for the Rakyat to be aware, of course after that second term as PM – if even possible – end nepotism WITHIN BN also, but do start with Pakatan, or 3rd Force will have to lead the way . . . )

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Fatigue and the constant threat of being under the gun from special interest groups, businessmen, unions and warlords are making the prospect of a longer wait for polls unpalatable for Barisan Nasional (BN) ministers and leaders.

Sources told The Malaysian Insider that the consensus among ministers and BN leaders is that they want the polls sooner rather than at the end of the year. The reason: voters know that the polls are going to be a tough one for Umno/BN, so ministers are under pressure to give out contracts, licences, approved permits (APs) and other concessions.

If the ministers don’t appear keen on meeting requests from party warlords and special interest groups, the sources say the ministers are told not so subtly that they could lose votes to Pakatan Rakyat (PR), which is gunning to capture Putrajaya in the next elections after its success in Election 2008.

“Sooner is better than later for the next elections. BN leaders cleared June and July for polls but now it seems it will be after the Budget, putting more pressure on them,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.

The budget will be tabled on September 28. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak (picture) has not indicated when the polls will be held but said it could be called during the pilgrimage season around the haj on October 26.

BN ministers and leaders feel that if elections are called soon, the ruling federal coalition will win, not with two-thirds majority but better than Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s government in 2008.

Waiting till the later part of year is fraught with own risks of a slowing economy and the possibility of more infighting for seats and position, apart from more “threats and demands” from power brokers and unions, said another source.

He said that what was clear is that no one in BN, not the ministers or strategists, believes that the polls will be a walkover although Najib has said the coalition can get back its two-thirds majority and win in all 13 states and the Kuala Lumpur federal territory.

BN lost four states — Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor and failed to win Kelantan in 2008. It got back Perak in February 2009 after several PR lawmakers quit their pact, giving BN the majority.

The Malaysian Insider has learnt that the BN leaders privately agree it is tricky to get urban seats especially in the west coast of the Malay peninsula. The blunder over using what is seen as excessive force during the Bersih rallies in the past year has also reduced support for BN.

There is also concern over the fight to be the mentri besar in Johor, Kedah and Perlis. Umno is hoping to win back Kedah with deputy minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir as the top choice for the post although he doesn’t hold a state party post while Johor MB Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman has been in office since 1995.

“Many are jostling for the MB posts and that is a headache for Najib,” said a source, adding an initial list of MBs has already been prepared.

An election must be called by next April 28, otherwise Parliament will be automatically dissolved and a general election held within 60 days.

Those familiar with Najib’s thinking say he is cautious and meticulous about ensuring an emphatic victory so as not to share Abdullah’s fate of losing his office despite getting a simple majority in 2008.

Many have blamed Abdullah for the shock loss, especially the influential Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and Najib has been working hard to revive and regain support for the country’s only ruling coalition since Merdeka, when it had been called the Alliance.

“Najib has said an election is war and one has to be prepared for war. That [the election is] not being called shows they are not as prepared as he wants them to be,” a BN strategist had told The Malaysian Insider.

The strategist pointed out that while Najib remains popular with the public, receiving a 65 per cent approval rating in the last Merdeka Center poll, the government is not as popular — securing only a 48 per cent approval in a survey done after the Bersih rally on April 28. The results for Najib’s Umno were not revealed but are said to be even lower.

A BN leader recalled that even when Dr Mahathir grew unpopular for sacking Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, Umno and BN were well-accepted enough to carry the vote and form the federal government with a two-third majority, although the ruling coalition lost Terengganu.

He also pointed out that Abdullah had a 71 per cent approval rating going into Election 2008 but still lost the supermajority and four states.

Some 12 million are eligible to vote if elections are called this year, up from the nine million in 2008. According to Election Commission (EC) statistics, around 40 per cent of these are young voters.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

So-called ‘leaders’ are mere citizens who should GTFO of Dewan after 2 terms whatever political group they are working from. The nepotistic and term limitless, also racist MPs and assemblymen are not viable candidates. Businessmen should see fit to take down their bloated citizens posing as leaders, kick these ‘leaders’ out of the system and who knows, even create a more ethical environment instead of benefit crony capitalism which has destroyed and indebted the West.

‘He also pointed out that Abdullah had a 71 per cent approval rating going into Election 2008 but still lost the supermajority and four states.’

This is because of political capitalist nepotism that Abdullah ignored and grew into after gaining power, and also Khairy’s lack of political savvy and arrogance, also greed. Family blocs tend to cause this sort of effect. 3rd world politics should be done away with.

ARTICLE 9

Tunku’s son joins think-tank to revive dad’s vision – June 25, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — The son of Malaysia’s first prime minister has joined the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) as its special adviser, boosting the local think-tank’s bid to revive Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj’s vision for the country.

“Tunku Nerang (picture) and his wife Datin Seri Liliana have been long-standing supporters of IDEAS’s commitment to revive the vision of Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra,” the think-tank’s president, Tunku Zain Al-’Abidin Tuanku Muhriz, said in a statement today.

“To have the son of Bapa Kemerdekaan join us as a Special Adviser will give us even more impetus and inspiration to further discover, research and share the forgotten legacy of the Almarhum Tunku and his colleagues,” the Negri Sembilan prince added.

IDEAS was founded two years ago by Tunku Zain and two others, to promote market-based solutions to public policy challenges. It was ranked the world’s 18th best new think-tank by the University of Pennsylvania and the United Nations University in a joint 2010 Global Go-To Think Tank Report.

The trio were inspired by Tunku Abdul Rahman’s proclamation of independence in 1957 for Malaysia to “be forever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations”.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Takes more than looking like someone to make a difference. And Malaysia is full of limelight loving copycats and liars . . . Tunku’s relation to Abdul Rahman actually ‘normalizes’ nepotism though ever so obliquely, but ESPECIALLY so when the common voter’s lack of understanding of the dangers of nepotism is an issue and rampant in government causing great harm against democracy, should IDEAS set a good example. IDEAS seems to be treading a fine ethical line here, that IDEAS doubtlesss will be too lazy or ‘bodek’ to want to address. Lets hope Tunku Zain Al-’Abidin Tuanku Muhriz could start by giving views on :

Issues-wise, IDEAS has floundered and tiptoed about clearly speaking about the ‘Merdeka Social Contract’s’ failure via the Reid Commission, and acknowledgment that Bumiputra Special Privileges are indeed a form of apartheid. One wonders if Tunku’s presence here means a change for better in propagating truth of Malaysia’s fundamentally flawed state (due to Bumiputr Apartheid and Malay Reserve Land) or just another limelighter who will make no changes but bask in the ethos an NGO like IDEAS provides.

The trio were inspired by Tunku Abdul Rahman’s proclamation of independence in 1957 for Malaysia to “be forever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations”. But without acknowledgement of the above facts and 3 items, IDEAS is just another lame outfit filled with possible beneficiaries of Bumiputra Apartheid who are likely cryptoracists at heart. Address the above 3 issues honestly . . . end the apartheid . . .

Private NGOs are not publicly accountable on their stand on nepotism, so there can be no case for criticism except on the moral and ethical angle – but not legalistic (yet).

The PM today called the leasing of taxis “a form of modern-day slavery” that he abhors. — file pic
BUKIT JALIL, June 24 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak moved today to woo the country’s 70,000-strong contingent of taxi drivers by pledging to phase out the current practice of awarding taxi licences to companies.

The prime minister promised a “new model” for all taxi drivers, saying the government will award individual licences to them instead.

“In one or two years’ time, we are moving to introduce a new taxi model (system). We are in the midst of framing it.

“I don’t like it when I hear that companies get too many taxi licences. The era where we give taxi licences to individual companies will end,” Najib said today, to cheers from a 10,000-strong audience mainly comprising of taxi drivers.

“We will provide individuals with a new system. The interests of the individual taxi driver will be taken care of as best as possible.

“The leasing of taxis is a form of modern-day slavery which I do not like,” the Barisan Nasional (BN) chief stressed.

Plans to revamp the licensing system of taxis will be included in the government’s new programme titled TR1MA (Teksi Rakyat 1Malaysia) — a collaborative effort between the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD), the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture as well as 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Najib said 1MDB has pledged to allocate RM35 million a year to subsidise the purchase cost of car tyres for all taxi drivers.

“Each taxi driver will receive a subsidy voucher for tyres totalling RM520 per year…whereby every taxi driver will get one set of free tyres every year at predetermined outlets.

“They can be obtained from about 300 tyre service centres nationwide,” the PM added.

Besides that, he said the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry will provide a RM1 million insurance fund for all taxi drivers throughout Malaysia.

“Taxi drivers have to be satisfied, their welfare needs to be looked after,” Najib stressed.

He pointed out that taxi drivers played a major role in shaping the opinions of tourists who came to Malaysia.

“They are an important group in forming the image and perception tourists have of the government and country.

“We gather here to express our gratitude to a group within society who have a big role,” Najib said.

The Umno president urged taxi drivers to help the government shape a good reputation for the country.

“If a tourist gets in a taxi and see a nice smile on the driver instead of an angry face, then they will assume that all Malaysians are like that,” he said.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

A taxi driver with a private licence AND freedom from apartheid will be twice as smiley. This is also btw a 1960s socialist change in laws that China could probably have already implemented WITHOUT retaining apartheid. But thats good to hear, great for the taxi drivers. And yet taxi drivers should know apartheid has no place, private licence or not. Don’t mistake the trees for a forest . . .

ARTICLE 11

4,430 top students need not repay PTPTN loans – June 23, 2012

JOHOR BARU, June 23 — Those who scored first-class honours in their bachelor’s degree before 2010 need not repay their Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan.

This follows the government agreeing to widen the policy to convert the loans to scholarships.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin (picture) said the move to convert loans to scholarships for students who scored outstanding results was decided on June 15.

He said 4,430 students, comprising from both private and public universities, who obtained excellent results had their PTPTN loans converted to scholarships since July 1, 2005. This involved a total amount of RM116.2 million.

“These students are required to submit their official offer letters to PTPTN, together with a copy of their certified first-class degrees, examination results, student declaration and accreditation certificate from the Malaysian Qualifications Agency,” he added.

Mohamed Khaled was speaking to reporters after launching the National Education Savings Scheme and handing over cash advance loans to 255 students in the Pasir Gudang constituency here today.

The Pasir Gudang MP said the decision to extend the convertible policy was made to acknowledge outstanding students, besides encouraging others to obtain excellent results. — Bernama

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

30-100K times 4 thousand+ students loans stolen from the taxpayers courtesy of the BN government! Fail! How unprofessional can BN get? Debts MUST be returned, this is NOT BN’s money, this is the TAXPAYER’S MONEY. That money is not to go to people who cannot keep their word about returning debts! 1-4+ billion loss for 4K+ unethical people who should be marked as criminals instead of being let loose in society with bad ethics! Even if they take 20 years to return, no problem. But to write off is the laziest and most mediocre option possible. BN wants votes and BN will throw away tax payer monies without a care for people who did honestly return PTPTN loans or pay their taxes on time. Could the Bar Council or the Judiciary challenge this decision? Ridiculous and offensive BN government, even as PR is nepotistic and clique centred as well as term limitless. GTFO of Dewan, terrible and worse than jaguh kampung or whatever tempurung mindset! Too unprofessional and unstatesmanlike. Answer to the Rakyat!

There is proof: Ching answering a question during the press conference. Also present was Selangor BN coordinator Datuk Seri Ir Mohd Zin Mohamed.

(The Star) – A DAP councillor from the Petaling Jaya City Council has been accused for allegedly diverting a legal job to a law firm belonging to Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng after it was initially given to another legal firm via a tender process.

Klang MCA Youth Chief Ching Eu Boon who showed documents as proof of his claim, said the contract which involved litigation work for a debt case was initially given to Messrs Daim and Gamany for RM15,000 via tender on Mar 26, 2011.

In June 16, last year the MBPJ legislative sub-committee met and decided to offer the job to Lim’s law firm which goes under the name of Messrs Stella, Lim and Co, which charged a fee of RM55,000.

“It is believed that MBPJ councillor and DAP party member Tiew Way Keng, who chaired the meeting had misused her powers by awarding the job to Lim’s law firm despite quoting a fee three times higher than the initial fee of RM15,000,” he told a news conference in Shah Alam.

Although the sub-committee consists of 17 members, Ching named Tiew, Chan Chee Kong and Derek Fernandez as the only three councillors who attended the meeting.

“According to MBPJ Audit Department’s records, Fernandez was quoted as leaving the meeting early due to personal matters while Chan claimed ignorance on the appointment of a law firm that was linked to Lim, a DAP party member.

“How could the decision to award a contract be decided by only two members?” Ching asked.

He alleged that the incident only reflected that DAP practises dirty politics while its councillors were only interested in obtaining contracts for the sole purpose of making money for themselves.

He added that the details he received on the case was given to him by sources from DAP.

“Many DAP members are unhappy with their leadership. They (DAP members) tell me that their leaders say one thing and do another,” Ching claimed.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Just like the ‘bait and switch’ method used against the voters, saying that MPs will declare assets BEFORE elections, THEN only having EXCO (appoionted intead of elected at quorum to boot – another campaign lie) declare assets instead of MPs. Can any citizen vote for people who lie within lies in this manner? Nepotism and culture of entitlement based on oligarchy and limitless terms typified DAP’s undemocratic culture. Vote for 3rd Force instead, and not BN still, as BN is racist, while PR is corrupted and a liar filled with undemocratic practices.

ARTICLE 13

Should we continue paying taxes? — Lucius Goon – June 30, 2012

JUNE 30 — My wife and I pay our taxes on time and we are assessed at the highest tax bracket. We never avoided or evaded taxes and viewed it as a moral duty.

But let me put in a caveat. I believe the time has come for us taxpayers (and this excludes 90 per cent of civil servants, Umno politicians and their nominees as well as rent-seekers) to consider a campaign of civil disobedience against paying taxes until the government of the day can show that it can utilise this revenue in a responsible way.

I am not talking about the world record holidays/trips abroad taken by the prime minister and the first family or his cabinet ministers. I am referring to the over-the-top spending by the Barisan Nasional government to stay in power.

It seems like every day is Christmas for this prime minister. Tyres for taxi drivers, cash for Malaysians, a few million for this group and another few million for that group.

And then there is the never-ending slush money for BN MPs, the latest being RM1.5 million for every one of those jokers in Parliament. Yes, you and I are sponsoring Mohamed Aziz of Sri Gading.

If that were not enough, we have an MRT project that seems to get more expensive by the day and which is being parcelled out to the rich and connected.

Oh, I forgot, we have an LRT that also gets more expensive by the day and which is being parcelled out to the rich, unqualified and connected.

And then are the billions being spent on infrastructure projects that the country does not need, just so that Najib can make some powerful Umno politician happy.

Basically, my wife and I are working like crazy to pay taxes, which are then used by a corrupt, racist and morally-bankrupt regime to stay in power. Not only that, our hard-earned money is being lavished on people who are allergic to work: Umno politicians and cybertroopers.

I am interested to hear from right-minded Malaysians on whether the time is right for a campaign to stop paying taxes until we can put in place a government that understands it is a steward of our money.

At present, the people in Putrajaya are behaving like feudal lords, “taxing their subjects and spending as they see fit.”

* Lucius Goon reads The Malaysian Insider.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Ask the MPs to find out which of them intend to lower taxes to decide who is votable. Then ask about changing election deposits too. The system as is disallows the poorest in society from joining politics. This is undemocratric and low minded wealth and greed oriented of the government. Anyone should not be prevented for running for candidacy simply because they are too poor. I propose that a flat 1 month’s salary or 1% of total liquid asset of any person be imposed on any and all people who want to run for election – then also impose 2 term limits.

The Penang police did not act fast enough when the chief minister was harassed yesterday. Lim wonders if the same would have happpened if the prime minister had been harassed.

(FMT) – Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has taken the Penang police to task for failing to provide adequate protection for him and not taking stern action against the Perkasa member who harassed him in Teluk Bahang yesterday.

Lim was brushed hard over his shoulder area by a Perkasa member yesterday while he was in the wet market complex for a ‘meet-the-people’ session.

The young man who harassed Lim had to be pushed away by some local village security and development committee (JKKK) members before Lim could be escorted to his car. Lim was uninjured but expressed shock over the incident

Earlier in the day, some 10 Perkasa members had gathered at the market to protest against Lim. They had also thrown posters at Lim just as he arrived at the market.

Lim said today that although the police were informed of the event and were present, they failed to take any quick action when the incident had occurred.

“Dragging the Perkasa member away from threatening my safety should have been the duty and responsibility of the police, not Pakatan Rakyat local leaders.

“The failure of the police to offer adequate protection was followed by the failure of the police to immediately arrest the Perkasa member involved.

“Just imagine how harsh police reaction would have been if this had involved the prime minister and not the Pakatan chief minister,” he said today.

He added that the lack of action against Malay right wing group Perkasa will only serve to embolden the group. The police, he said, should have immediately arrested the young man.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Thats what happens when enemies are emboldened by clique and nepotism based party MISRULE and false election promises. They lost respect for LGE who could not even hold a single unbiased Local Council Election or seperate family from faith from state work from democracy. LGE and the Lim family bloc are a blight on DAP that emboldens this sort of behaviour. TERM limitless, excluding and parrots and self serving copycats. Would be allies of DAP are inclined to beome enemies, existing enemies of DAP are inclined to reseort to increasingly vicious treatment of DAP. ‘Great’ b.s. leadership DAP! The police should slam Lim instead! Drag off the old sod to court and prison for LIMITLESS TERMS and NEPOTISM!

Taiji, Japan plans to open a marine safari park. – shutterstock.com
TOKYO, May 2 – The dolphin-hunting Japanese town of Taiji, made infamous by the Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove”, plans to open a marine mammal park where visitors can swim with the creatures, a media report said.

The town intends to section off part of the cove and turn it into a place where people can swim and kayak alongside small whales and dolphins, Jiji Press news agency reported, calling it “a marine safari park.”

The cove is the scene of an annual slaughter when the fishermen of Taiji corral dolphins, select a few dozen for sale to aquariums and marine parks, and stab the rest to death for meat, turning the sea red.

The 2009 film “The Cove” brought Taiji to worldwide attention, winning an Oscar the following year, after showing the bloody slaughter. Activists continue to visit the town to protest the hunt.

Taiji, in western Wakayama prefecture, aims to officially launch the project within five years after negotiating with the prefectural government, which manages the bay, and with pearl farmers operating there, Jiji reported.

The plan, compiled by a panel of residents, calls for the creation of “a whale park” stretching roughly 28 hectares (69 acres) by putting up a net at the entrance to Moriura Bay in northwestern Taiji, it said.

Black whales and bottlenose dolphins caught in waters near the town would be released into the pool, which would be developed as a nature park that also includes beaches and mudflats, it said.

“We want to send out the message that the town is living together with whales,” Taiji Mayor Kazutaka Sangen, was quoted as saying.

The local government will also study whether it is possible to raise large whales there, the agency said, adding it intends to use the park for therapy and ecological research.

The town caught 928 dolphins in 2011, according to Wakayama prefecture.

A town official, who declined to be named, said by telephone that the town “is no way going to stop” its annual dolphin hunt, adding local residents see no contradiction in both watching and eating dolphins. – AFP

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Hateful. Much like the Nomadic Tuareg of North Africa, or the Mongols and early nomadic era Khitans of East Asia, whales are NOMADIC. Whales travel 1000s of miles along the Earth’s ‘energy’ routes and ley lines, enclosing them in this tiny ‘park’ will be the death of them. They will suffer and feel the call to migrate and pine away in illness eventually no matter how ‘kind’ the Japanese are to them. This is a terrible idea and instead I advocate a small fleet of ‘anti-whalers’ (or cruise ships trailing known routes) that should instead accompany the great animals and the dolphin pods on their migrations (at a distance not to disturb them) to protect them as well as truly experience ‘whale lifestyle’, not trapping the pelagic and migratory animals from their natural patterns.

Worse still where the slaughter of so many occurred, the spirits of the dead whales would doubtless be present and thus upset the sensitive animals who could who knows well ‘see’ the deceased. Shame on you Japanese. To think the Japanese claim to study ‘Shinto’ and ‘Ki’ and what not b.s.. How could the Japanese behave like this? Would a Japanese who knew their grandparents were murdered in a certain place want to stay there? This is somewhat worse than saying that ‘Nanjing’ did not happen or that all, (I stress all – probably less than 10% who were that lasvicious or already in the sex work field), ‘Comfort Women’ (who still have not received apology or compensation – print some fiat why don’ the Japanese, bits of paper to allow some aged women who suffered the brutality of Japanese soldiers is no effort at all to the Japs and even then the sincereity would be in doubt, at least they had a chance to enjoy life abit though reparations never can count for what those who were not consensual lost . . . ) were consensual.

ARTICLE 2

Dog and cat meat consumption in Asia

In China and Korea enormous amounts of Dog –and Cat meat are being consumed.

Also in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Myanmar (former Soviet Union) dogs and cats are being used as food, but the consumption is a bit lower over there. Dog and Cat meat is an old cuisine. The assertion that it is a part of the traditional kitchen is nothing less than a publicity stunt of the food producing cartels. Dogs and Cats are simply an easy and inexpensive food source. In a lot of Asian countries the slaughtering of dogs and cats is practiced since time immemorial and will continue. Cats are mainly consumed in China, Korea and parts of Indonesia.

The estimated numbers of dogs that are used for consumption in 2008 lay between 13 and 16 million (source: Animal People); for Cats the numbers were about 4 million.
Dog meat is highly popular in non-Westernized conoisseurs in Hong Kong, South Korea, and the Philippines. Despite the popularity, the numbers of slaughtered dogs grow very little each year as these groups tend to be quite elite and do not mix with the Westerners.

The Dogs and Cats are purposely gruesomely mistreated before slaughter as the belief is that the suffering of the animals makes the meat taste better. Mistreatment is not intended, the killing methods are very painful. Sources in China reveal that Dogs and Cats are being stabbed in the neck, thrown in boiling water or electrocuted, hanged or beaten on the head with a plank while still conscious. There are a few contradicting myths about Dog meat.

In the summer Koreans eat Dog meat to cool themselves. In China they eat Dog meat to stay warm…

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Outlets where cooked dog or cat meat are purposely gruesomely mistreated before slaughter, should be boycotted entirely. Though finding out which of these practice the bad method of culling is another issue. Conversely do remember that those who do treat the animals as other domesticated livestock are treated and culled, should be allowed to continue.

Of course, those with the cash and access to technology for growing meat OF ANY KIND should begin initiatives so that these issues will not plague us. Or better yet, find ways to enable human beings to get energy and nutrition without eating at all! This again must be consensually applied to informed persons, one may not want to give up eating simply because the sense of life eating brings but that would mean a cyberneticisation of the person eventually, a NON-ORGANIC GMO type immortality and a lack of reason to procreate.

Maybe applicable after a few decades of normal organic life and then an option to procreate, age and die or to be turned into a machine? But the ‘humanity’ is lost and that is more precious than existence so only a few particularly insensitive types would opt for that. The rest though would still opt for the organic method, or die trying.

ARTICLE 3

Brazil’s secret fiscal weapon — the tax ‘lion’ – May 08, 2012

BRASILIA, May 8 — In Brazil, groups of armed agents fly around the country by helicopter, pounding on doors and instilling fear in the hearts of those who break the law.

They’re not the police — they’re from the tax agency.

The Federal Revenue Service, which has gained global renown for its tough and creative tactics, will be one of the most important keys to Brazil’s economic prospects in 2012.

President Dilma Rousseff (picture) is counting on the agency’s tax-collecting prowess to help her government meet ambitious budget targets without smothering the country’s suddenly brittle economy.

The agency, known as “The Lion” for its official emblem as well as its ferocious pursuit of tax dodgers, deploys everything from gun-toting operatives to meters on beer kegs in breweries to ensure that individuals and companies fully declare, and pay, their share to the government.

Recent operations have had names like “Black Panther” and “Delta” that are usually more associated with army special forces. The agency even uses helicopters to size up millionaires’ homes and make sure they are consistent with their tax returns.

No one is immune: Rousseff herself briefly came under scrutiny in 2009, when she was a minister in the previous government, because of what she said was an innocent mistake on her tax return.

The agency’s methods, as well as high and extremely complex taxes, have prompted grumbling among some Brazilians. They point to woeful infrastructure, education and other decrepit public services and say they are not getting nearly enough in return for the cash they contribute.

But others express admiration for a rare success story of tax collection in Latin America, a region where evasion often rivals football as a favourite pastime.

“When it comes to collecting taxes, Brazilians are really good. They are probably some of the best in the world,” said Italo Lombardi, an analyst with Standard Chartered in New York.

Rousseff will need every bit of the agency’s skill in what is proving to be a surprisingly tough year for Brazil’s economy.

Her government has committed to a key budget goal known as the primary budget surplus — revenues minus expenditures except debt payments — of about 139 billion reais (RM216 billion) this year.

The target is closely watched by investors as a sign of whether the government is pumping too much money into the economy. Falling short of the target could signal higher inflation, which in turn could jeopardise Rousseff’s entire agenda, including her drive to lower interest rates.

There are two ways to balance a budget, of course, and Rousseff can meet the target in part by limiting spending. But officials say she is wary of cutting too much, for fear of causing damage to an economy that has been stagnant since the middle of last year. In fact, Rousseff has announced some new tax cuts to try to revive activity.

That means that the burden of hitting the budget goal will depend primarily on another stellar performance by the Federal Revenue Service, which managed to increase tax collection by 10.1 per cent last year, when the economy grew just 2.7 per cent.

So far, so good. In the first three months of the year, the government was able to save nearly a third of its primary surplus target for the year. Tax revenues rose more than 7 per cent compared to the same period in 2011.

One of the secrets behind such performance, officials say, is the agency’s willingness to ignore social status and political connections in a country where both often grant the elite a degree of protection in courts and elsewhere.

In April, local media reported that police seized a sports car owned by Luis Fabiano — a football star for the popular Sao Paulo club. Fabiano, a former member of Brazil’s national team, denied the authorities’ allegation that he had failed to pay taxes on the Audi, which is worth nearly half a million reais.

“The role of the tax authority is to let taxpayers know that we are keeping an eye on them and that they should do the right thing,” Caio Candido, the agency’s undersecretary for inspection, said in an interview.

The agents themselves also have a good record of doing the right thing. Corruption cases are few and far between, a sharp contrast with the deluge of charges against officials in the police and other public institutions.

Officials from Chile, Tanzania and even China have come to Brazil to study what makes the agency so effective.

Several Latin American countries such as Mexico and Paraguay are believed to lose as much as half of potential tax revenues to evasion and lax enforcement. By contrast, evasion in Brazil is thought to be around 16 per cent of potential income, according to the Tax Planning Institute, a private Brazil-based group.

That rate is high when compared to some northern European countries, experts say, but much better than that of many emerging market peers.

Average tax evasion in Brazil from 2000-2009 was below that of China, India, Russia and South Africa — Brazil’s fellow members of the BRICS group of large emerging markets — according to data from Global Financial Integrity, a Washington-based research group that advocates financial transparency.

More than 25 million Brazilians declare income tax. That is less than a quarter of the economically active population because most Brazilians make less than the US$8,300 (RM24,900) a year, the level at which people have to start paying income tax.

The high-profile cases involving individuals grab the headlines, but the biggest money comes from closely monitoring companies, which make up more than half of Brazil’s tax revenue.

Here, technology and manpower play large roles. Teams of accountants and legal experts are deployed to monitor the books of companies year-round. Everardo Maciel, who helped modernise the tax agency in the 1990s, said the authority was one of the first in the world to fully embrace the Internet as a tool.

The agency has about 12,000 agents across Brazil and their tasks range from monitoring the tax receipts of millionaires to hunting for the smugglers of everything from cocaine to Chinese toys along its border.

The government has also managed to instil habits among Brazilians that help prevent evasion.

Cashiers at supermarkets and other retail outlets in big Brazilian cities constantly ask their customers: “Do you want your CPF on the receipt?” By consenting to enter their CPF, which is a personal tax identification number, consumers get a tax refund — and the government gets data that allows officials to better track a company’s sales.

Such measures helped the government demand a record 109 billion reais in unpaid taxes from individuals and companies last year. Some of those accused of underpaying are global giants like iron-ore miner Vale, which is partly owned by the government.

Most tax cases take years to be resolved in courts, but the tax agency was able to secure about 18 billion reais in back payments last year alone.

Some Brazilians see a less virtuous explanation for the tax agency’s efficiency — what they describe as their government’s all but insatiable appetite for money.

Tax revenues equal to about 35 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, well above emerging-market peers and more in line with European countries. But the services offered in return are hardly Europe-like, as Brazil’s roads, schools and police remain under-resourced even by Latin American standards.

Sixty-five per cent of Brazilians disapprove of the government’s tax policies, according to a CNI-Ibope poll released in April. Brazilian vent their anger on websites with names that, translated into English, mean “timetoact.com” or “bigtaxholiday.com.”

“Tax collection in this country is very high, but why is the application of that money not as efficient as collection?” said Gilberto Luiz do Amaral, head of studies at the Tax Planning Institute.

Amaral is the creator of the “taxmeter,” a website with real-time projections on how much the government is collecting, juxtaposed with headlines like “This could buy six million ambulances.”

Taxes are not only high but complex. Brazil ranks 150th out of 183 countries in terms of ease of paying taxes, according to the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking. It takes nearly seven times longer for companies to prepare their taxes in Brazil than the average elsewhere in Latin America, the bank says.

The marginal tax rate for companies in Brazil averages about 34 per cent. Business owners often complain they are charged twice and sometimes even three times the same tax by municipalities and states.

Tax laws are complicated and fast-changing. Private lawyers estimate a new tax rule is created about every seven weeks.

Rousseff says she gets the message. She has vowed to improve the quality of spending and seek tax cuts.

“The government needs to use public resources efficiently and with honesty,” Rousseff said in a televised address last week, “so that people feel they are getting a good return for their taxes.” — Reuters

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Remember that overreaching all these agencies and government as well, is the fact that the voters can vote to abolish taxes or even the army or police entirely by choosing an MP who will do so. With enough MPs, the entire parasite system will no longer take up tax dollars. For example, when a MP says they will increase police number or military equipment, this does not mean crime is going down, what does happen is that instead of subsidies for poor, more taxes will be spent supporting that new recruits and maintaining equipment which doubtless will meet government crony middlemen along the way which will increase prices inflation, running costs etc.., for decades long periods of time!

The agency, uniformed group, and all employees are drawing on taxpayer funds, and without them, there would be less consumption of tax. Vote for people who will abolish GST, VAT and tax entirely. At least for those not earning massive amounts. Perhaps taxes could begin to be levied on upper scale earners only. To solve the police or army problem, make the whole uniformed group voluntary, to provide their own weapons, and still be bound by laws. To solve the military equipment problem, let the multi-millionaires or billionaires buy tanks, ships and planes.

If they wish to, they can also fund any barracks existing. The issue of bureaucracy can also be dealt with in the same manner. Voluntary and with responsibilities, the respect should not be for a fat salary but for the service provided which also needs to be limited to a certain number of terms to prevent political hegemony by groups of citizens in all areas in all fields. Democracy is not a parasite system, democracy means Socialism with Capitalist limits (not unlimited uncontrolled Capitalism), each pulling the weight they are able to. (i.e. poor and middle wealth do not pay tax, upper wealth and above pay, apex be required to support healthcare, education, the military and police etc.. instead of sequestering that wealth).

The envelopes also contained notes that were nearly identical, containing references to “May Day,” which falls on May 1 and is a traditional rally day for labor movements.

The notes also included statements such as “You have 10 seconds to stop working,” “You are not in control” and “[Expletive] the banks.”

Occupy Wall Street is planning a big demonstration Tuesday in New York City, urging followers to block traffic at bridges and tunnels to make it hard for people to get to work.

That has the NYPD suspecting that there may be an Occupy Wall Street connection to the letters.

“I’m not aware of any unions who are actually striking, but the message seems to be connected to that, saying ‘Stop work, you have 10 seconds to do it,’” Browne told 1010 WINS’ Rincon.

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False flag to justify enriching hazmat or TSA suppliers and contractors. In fact, all terrorism might be strawmen events including 911 to generate massive profits based around ‘terror’ and ‘war against terror’ ala 10th crusade. How about looking for a ‘Clintonite’ who propagates good economics and good times, rather than the Bush era warmongering. There are better ways to educate populations about overpopulation WHILE humanity has a good time. We don’t care if the President has sex regularly in the oval office (though not at our expense), but we do care that life does not become a ‘Hazmat’ or ‘Fed Reserve’ justifying exercise which enriches extreme plutocrats and causes ‘collateral deaths’ that cause hatred worldwide for what used to be the better of nations. Oh and lets get some Native American peoples into government or at very least the UN Ambassadry for USA.

ARTICLE 5

Michael Krieger On The Rebirth Of Barter – Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/27/2012 17:46 -0400

The Final Act of the Uruguay Round, marking the conclusion of the most ambitious trade negotiation of our century, will give birth – in Morocco – to the World Trade Organization, the third pillar of the New World Order, along with the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund – Government of Morocco – April, 1994 Source: New York Times, full page ad by the government of Morocco

The Rebirth of Barter

One of the most important articles I have read this week comes from Forbes contributor Gordon Chang. In it he states that China is preparing to avoid U.S. sanctions on Iran by paying for oil with gold. Not only that but he also mentions that China has already been bartering with Iran to get a hold of petroleum. He states:

So how can Beijing keep both Iran’s ayatollahs and President Obama happy at the same time? Simple, the Chinese can avoid the U.S. sanctions through barter. China has already been trading its produce for Iran’s petroleum, but there is only so much gai lan and bok choy the Iranians can eat. That’s why Iran is also accepting, among other goods, Chinese washing machines, refrigerators, toys, clothes, cosmetics, and toiletries.

The barter trade works, but Iran needs cash too. As it is being cut off from the global financial system, the next best thing is gold. So we should not be surprised that in late February the Iranian central bank said it would accept that metal as payment for oil. Last year, China imported $21.7 billion in Iranian oil and exported $14.8 billion in goods and services. As the NDAA goes into effect, look for Beijing to ship gold to Iran to make up the difference.

Thus, the leadership in America in its infinite stupidity has actually accelerated the demise of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. After its “kinetic action” in Libya succeeded in toppling the regime there, Washington’s geopolitical hubris grew and it has attempted to muscle Iran into a corner. Instead, all it has done is alienated our “allies” that need Iranian oil to survive and in the process quickened a move away from the dollar to settle certain transactions. Read Gordon’s article here.

In a similar move on a more micro level, the government of Spain in a similar desperation has banned the use of cash transactions above 2,500 euros (read this great article here on it). How do you think citizens are going to respond to this? People are already in the streets. They are not pleased with what is going on. Then the government is going to tell them they can’t use cash amongst themselves so that the authorities can track every single thing they do and bleed them with taxes until they are slaves on a banker plantation. Everything is going to go black market and to a barter system. It will happen country by country as governments get increasingly desperate and the authoritarian clamp down continues. It will happen on an increasing level until all of these house of cards bureaucratic states fail and something new is reborn. In case you haven’t seen it yet, this one town in Greece is already leading the way. This story outlines what will be a mega trend globally over the next decade.

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. . . look for Beijing to ship gold to Iran to make up the difference . . .

Joking? This article sounds like an attempt to sequester the only nano-femto-viable (alongside platinum perhaps) valuable commodity (for femto-circuitry probably) – whats the author trying to pull? Maybe goods for goods, but gold is the last resort item that the Indians and Chinese would even let go of. Seriously. Ask around. Labour and cheap goods yes.

But gold for oil that will be burnt energy? Forget it. The largest solar panel producer in the world China, will be going solar based electric soon, and Iran had better start saving cash and being a bit more popular, as in Persian popular. There is no long term paradigm for old energy technology based on coal, oil and gas. And fossil fuel once burnt stays burnt. GOLD LASTS FOREVER (in human terms at any rate). Also China and BRICS needs tht gold to introduce a GOLD STANDARD to destroy the fiat paper system (and all opponent economies) with. I’d rather go no further into this but focus on barter as a viable system instead.

1 Dinar is equal to 4.25 grams of weight at purity of 916. 1 Dinar could buy a goat during the time of prophet Muhammad.

But Gold cannot be produced by farming goats. Think deeply on this.

ARTICLE 6

NRC and the nuclear industry are attempting to whitewash Fukushima to relicense dangerous nuclear plants like Limerick. Myths and outright lies must be confronted to prevent more harm in Japan and a potential Limerick meltdown.

Fukushima’s GE reactors, similar to Limerick’s, were relicensed right before meltdowns. Just like us, Japan’s people were falsely assured meltdowns could never happen. So-called “redundant safety systems” failed. Fukushima was declared the worst nuclear disaster in history. Experts estimate radiation releases are 20 times Chernobyl’s, with three nuclear reactors and four nuclear fuel cores exposed. Dangerous radioactive plumes spread worldwide. Huge radioactive spills poured into the sea. Radiation levels 20,000 times above limits were detected. How anyone, let alone NRC, could call Fukushima doses “too low” to cause harm in the face of undeniable evidence is astounding. Such lies contradict reality, common sense, and scientific studies. It’s indefensible to dismiss Fukushima’s health consequences by inaccurately “claiming” radiation doses are “too low” and that there will be “no health harm.” Such ridiculous claims are political, not scientific. Fukushima, like Chernobyl, has the highest category on the International Nuclear Event Scale, meaning “A Major Release of Radiation With Widespread Health & Environmental Impact.” Russian scientists reported over a million additional deaths worldwide from Chernobyl. Many suffered a long list of health harms, including cancers. Children were born with heartbreaking deformities. For details: New York Academy of Science at nyas.org/annals. Chernobyl:”Consequences To People And The Environment”, compiles over 5,000 scientific studies.

• NRC gave Exelon until 2017 to comply with earthquake risk upgrades, even though Limerick is classified “high risk” (3rd in the nation) and earthquake risks are drastically increased from fracking in Pennsylvania.
• Limerick’s uncorrectable “design flaws” are ignored, such as faulty cement used for fuel pools, and substandard containment for reactors allowing more radiation to be released in a disaster.
• Also ignored, insufficient water to deal with a Limerick meltdown. There’s no endless water supply to keep cooling generators and fuel pools from an ocean. In fact, Limerick’s cooling towers have significantly depleted the Schuylkill River since 1985.
• Since 2010, GE’s warnings about Limerick’s flawed “key safety mechanism” to shut down reactors basically goes unaddressed.
• Limerick is run harder than design capacity through uprates, increasing risk of mechanical breakdown.
Exelon is complying with NRC’s weakened requirements for relicensing, but still failing to spend what is required to reduce Limerick’s unprecedented threats and harms to our region.
• Even though Limerick’s deadly “spent fuel” pools are packed and vulnerable, Exelon refuses to guard against terrorist air strikes or missiles.
• Only two back-up generators (for far too short a time) are insufficient for two reactors and two fuel pools.
• Fires can lead to meltdown, yet Limerick does not follow the safest fire safety regulations.
• There’s no filtration for toxics from Limerick’s Schuylkill River intake to reduce air pollution from cooling towers, or extraordinary toxic discharges into the river, or contaminated mine water pumping into the river to operate Limerick.
Enough lies and negligence for Exelon profits. An entire region faces becoming a dead zone, with residents losing their health, homes, and possessions. Clearly, Limerick must be closed to prevent a meltdown. If you agree, call ACE (610) 326-2387, or e-mail aceactivists@comcast.net. Leave your name, phone, and e-mail.
Limerick’s electric can be replaced. For details visit ACE’s new website at http://www.acereport.org.

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This is how a few hundred or thousand people dependent on their salaries from a nuclear plant end up holding millions, possibly the whole nation, even world hostage. If anything goes wrong, the same bunch end up jobless and irradiating tens to hundreds of square kilometres of land that would have been useful. Why not distribute that same land to these people (and even more people as well – for subsistence farming or whatever they want) instead, and be done with the risk of irradiation to the entire nation? An even bigger profit from organic grown food from that same land would be more useful.

Russian metals mogul Alisher Usmanov has become the richest person in Russia thanks to a shrewd investment in Facebook, according to the Forbes list of 200 wealthiest people in the country.

­With personal assets of $18.5 billion, the co-owner of the Metalinvest mining company knocked rival Vladimir Lisin, owner of the NLMK steel company, out of the top spot. Lisin, whose wealth is estimated at $15.9 billion, had topped the Forbes list for the last two years.

Severstal owner Alexey Mordashov was in third place with a fortune of $15.3 billion.

Usmanov’s wealth is believed to have been boosted by a 5.5% stake in Facebook, which has multiplied in value several times since 2010, when he purchased it through his Digital Sky Technologies Company (DST). The billionaire also owns stakes in Twitter Inc., Groupon Inc. and China’s internet portal Alibaba.
Just as Usmanov nicely upped his assets by $1.1 billion with his well-timed investment in internet companies, his arch-rivals Lisin and Mordashov lost $8.1 billion and $3.2 billion respectively, as the metal sector was blitzed by recession last year.

Vladimir Potanin, the president of Intrerros, took fourth place with $14.5 billion. He is followed by the head of Lukoil Vagit Alikperov ($13.5 billion) and Mikhail Fridman, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Alfa Group with $13.4 billion.

Former presidential candidate and ex-owner of ONEXIM Group Mikhail Prokhorov was in 7th – a step down from his enviable position as third richest last year. His wealth dropped from $18 to $13.2 billion.

The only lady on the list is Elena Baturina, owner of Inteco development company and wife of Moscow’s ex-mayor Yury Luzhkov. Her personal wealth is estimated around $1.1 billion.

The oldest Russian millionaire is Vladimir Tetukhin from the Avisma titanium monopoly, with $650 million, and the youngest, at just 16, is Deny Bazhaev – son of the late Zia Bazhaev, founder of Alliance Group, dealing in investment. He is the owner of around $750 million.

The total wealth of Russia’s 200 richest weighs in at $446.3 billion. 145 of them live in Moscow, and 13 in St. Petersburg.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Russia could take over the world if Russian Plutocrats weren’t so un-Marxistly and un-Communistly SELFISH and sequestering of Russian Wealth (get India and China’s BILLIONAIRES – who are not so RED themselves – to form a fleet as well, and BRICS is already the new hegemon but BRICS doesn’t know the fact or is held back by the Plutocracy . . . )

So think ‘Letters of Marque’ for those plutocrats. That means 145 Aircraft Carriers at very least. Well selfish Russian billionaires? ready to build 446 air craft carriers and take over the world? I doubt Russia would care so long as any warlike actions could be countered even if only by citizens rather than state military! Stop being selfish about that sequestered wealth, Capitalism infected plutocratic fools!

Let Marxism show the way Comrades! Have the guts for ‘Private Enterprise’ warfare? Barring the nuke based M.A.D. scenario (Geneva Convention should require all Nukes/Chemical/Biological-weapons to be decomissioned to prevent world wide irradiation or poisoning, though Conventional warfare should still be allowed), or Satellite neurotech (just distribute those countering ELF/EMF frequency helmets), there are 50 states in the USA which can be divvied up among the chief funders of the new Soviet-BRICS-ALBA supercharged war machine, so which Russian Plutocrats are ready to do the right thing and lead by example?

Sgt. Gary Stein was given an “other-than-honorable” discharge, official says
On Facebook, Stein had called president a liar, suggested he would not follow some orders
Military board found Stein broke rules limiting political conduct, recommended discharge

Washington (CNN) — A Marine who used his Facebook page to criticize President Barack Obama has been discharged, a Marine Corps spokesman said Wednesday.

Sgt. Gary Stein was given an “other-than-honorable” discharge, said Capt. Brian Block, a spokesman for the Marines.

Among other comments posted to his Facebook page, Stein called Obama a liar and suggested he would not follow some orders issued by the president.

An other-than-honorable discharge is given to a Marine who commits a “serious offense” that significantly differs from conduct expected of a Marine, the Corps said.

A statement from the Marines said it approved the findings of a military board, which in March recommended the discharge.

The board found Stein violated rules limiting political conduct by service members.

The Facebook page for Stein’s Armed Forces Tea Party had a post Wednesday saying the discharge will be postponed until the results of a medical condition, with which he was diagnosed Monday, are returned and treatment is discussed.

“I have spent the last 9 years honorably serving this great nation and the Corps,” Stein wrote on his personal Facebook page. “Even though I will be discharged no one can take the title of Marine away from me. I thank my family and friends for their support and love. Today is just the start of the rest of my life. Semper Fi.”

Stein said earlier this month that the case against him was weak, based on personal opinion and not on legal aspects.
Marine has anti-Obama Facebook page

Stein, who is based at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, California, called Obama a liar in a January 26 post to the Armed Forces Tea Party Facebook page. Two days later, he said the president is “the ‘Domestic Enemy’ our oath speaks about.”

Opinion: Marine’s Facebook posts on Obama go too far

In a March 4 posting, Stein questioned Obama’s birth certificate. Another discussion on the site in March said Stein would refuse to obey orders given by Obama. He later clarified to say he meant illegal orders, which he has explained as orders such as sending the military to Syria without congressional approval.

“The allegations drummed up against me are no more than an agenda by the Marine Corps to use me as an example,” Stein previously said in a statement posted to his page. “If I am guilty of anything it would be that I am American, a freedom loving Conservative, hell bent on defending the constitution and preserving Americas greatness.”

While the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the free speech rights of ordinary citizens, a Defense Department rule prohibits service members from engaging in some forms of political activity.

Among the prohibited activities are publishing partisan political articles or serving in an official capacity with a partisan political club.

Stein has said that he carefully followed the Defense Department directive. The Facebook page notes that it does not represent and is not affiliated with the military or government.

Nearly 30,000 people “like” Stein’s Armed Forces Tea Party page.

Facebook members responding to news of Stein’s discharge Wednesday were largely supportive.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. OTH’s (other-than-honorable discharges) are given to Marines who grossly violate the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice), as in drug use, excessive DUI’s, adultery, etc. This is a joke,” one wrote.

“So disappointed in the Corps. This is a poor decision,” wrote another.

Another Facebook member, however, said Stein’s punishment was expected.

“For any of you that thought that he was going to get anything but ‘Other than honorable’ … you really dont know jack about the military,” he wrote.

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Inequitable punishment and a black mark against 1st Amendment Rights. A public apology to the unit serving on, and a general ‘group’ for soldiers who do call the POTUS or other VIPs names should suffice. At the end of every year, Obama could address these ‘dissenters’ and ‘get a feel’ of whats wrong with the military, amend some laws instead of this ‘corporatised’/’recorded message laws’ treatment.

No need to discharge? American exceptionalism remember? How about Obama sit down with this Marine over a beer and let the world watch if the Marine repeats this to Obama’s face? 5 minutes at the White House for a quick beer, man to man . . . Obama is no ‘Mountaindew Comacho’ but this sort of televised meeting should gather much interest instead of the ‘hide behind rules’ feel of this case.

ARTICLE 9

It’s the Prince of Gales! Charles and Camilla have soggy forecast for the UK as they take to presenting the weather live on TV – by Rebecca English, Royal Correspondent – PUBLISHED: 14:21 GMT, 10 May 2012 | UPDATED: 19:07 GMT, 10 May 2012

One day he will reign over us. Today he just predicted it. Bucket loads in fact.

Despite the gloomy forecast, however, Prince Charles became something of an internet sensation when he decided to try his hand at reading the weather on a trip to BBC Scotland.

Dressed in a smart suit and tie, he was introduced live on air by presenter Sally Magnusson on the lunch-time news bulletin, Reporting Scotland.

Viewers of BBC Scotland’s lunchtime news were treated to a weather forecast delivered by Prince Charles

As he waited for his cue Charles looked quizzically at the button in his hand, but on hearing the words ‘Over to you, Your Royal Highness’, quickly warmed to his theme.

In fact, standing against the familiar backdrop of the BBC’s weather map, the prince proceeded to deliver an almost word-perfect reading of a specially-written script from his autocue.

The map itself had also undergone a little tweaking in honour of its special guest presenter, to include a number of places with links to the Royal Family north of the border including Balmoral, the Queen’s Highland home, the Castle of Mey, the former holiday home of the late Queen Mother, and Dumfries House, which was recently saved for the nation by a charitable consortium led by the prince.
After her husband had finished Camilla also tried her hand at presenting the weather

After her husband had finished Camilla also tried her hand at presenting the weather

Camilla looks on as Charles motions towards areas of low pressure

‘Well it’s an unsettled picture as we head towards the end of the week,’ Charles said confidently.

‘Ahh, this afternoon it will be cold, wet and windy across most of Scotland. We are under the influence of, err, low pressure and this weather front pushing northwards is bringing clouds and outbreaks of rain. The rain, of course, will be heaviest over the borders and, err, around Edinburgh, where it could lead to difficult conditions on the roads

‘In the west rain will be lighter and patchier with maybe a few drier interludes over Dumfries House in Ayrshire.’

At this he point he turned to the camera and gave a cheery ‘ah-ha!’ at the sneaky reference to his pet project.

He continued: ‘There will be snow for the higher ground of the Highlands and Aberdeenshire. There will be the potential for a few flurries over Balmoral’ before exploding into giggles and asking: ‘Who the hell wrote this script!’

He concluded: ‘The best of the drier and brighter weather will, of course, be over the far northern isles and far north of the mainland. So a little hazy sunshine for the Castle of Mey and Caithness. But a cold day everywhere with temperatures of eight celcius and a brisk north easterly wind.

More rain on the way: Prince Charles became something of an internet sensation when he decided to try his hand at reading the weather

Prince Charles

Complete with waving hands, Charles seized the opportunity to step in front of the camera

‘Thank God it isn’t a bank holiday!’

His wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, also gave the forecasting a go but it was her husband who clearly stole the show.

Indeed his famously expressive hand gestures made him an entirely natural weatherman.

The couple, who are known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland, were visiting the BBC studios in Pacific Quay, Glasgow, as part of their annual Holyrood week and to celebrate sixty years of BBC Scotland Television.

The unlikely scenario sent national News at One presenter Sophie Raworth into fits of laughter. She Tweeted: ‘Something I never thought I’d say – watch Prince Charles and Camilla have a go at being weather presenters.’

Later on air she turned to her weatherman, Nick Miller, and joked: ‘You might have some competition.’

After Charles had finished, Miller congratulated the royal on getting it spot on, adding: ‘That’s proof that even the royals can’t give us dry weather, because he’s absolutely right.’

A Clarence House spokeswoman said: ‘The prince entered into the spirit of the occasion and did very well, we think. He spends a lot of time in Scotland so he’s very interested in the weather there.’

The Duchess of Rothesay, as she is known in Scotland, mastered her presenting technique
The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall met BBC newsreader Sally Magnusson during their visit

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall later visited the BBC studio set of quiz show Eggheads, where they met contestants and panellists

Charles had a brief chat with Eggheads presenter Jeremy Vine afterbeing introduced during his tour of set of the popular general knowledge quiz show

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OMG totally out of touch. This is where Julie Andrews from ‘Sound of Music’ goes ‘You’re incorrigible.’ to Werner von Trap. And thats to put things VERY mildly, though an aging Prince still unable to take up the Crown and brought up through WWI and WWII could hardly be expected to understand such 99%ter issues (. . . wealth cannot buy breeding, breeding also cannot buy wealth . . . ). More riots anyone? No canapes served later . . .

Solidarity with the plutocrat reporter! 1%ter type attitude. Guess what, Prince Charles is a ‘Plutocrat Nazi’ (i.e. blindly supports pluocrats). For every Scotsman who is working for future a Sovereign Scottish Kingdom (perhaps with a Scottish King) with a Scottish seat at the UN, that might yet not one day be disappointed with a parallel in Tibet-like politics (though not necessarily violence and theocracy), the world goes, ‘Shame on you Prince Charles for taking sides with the wrong peope!’, and this is nothing new! Bou! Bou!

The outlook for foreign investment in China is grim this year, said Shen Danyang, a spokesperson for the country’s Ministry of Commerce, on Tuesday.

“Internationally speaking, the European sovereign debt crisis continues unabated, resulting in a steady decline in Europe’s outbound investment,” Shen Danyang said at a regular news conference. “The U.S. government is struggling to revive the country’s manufacturing sector, and has launched a series of campaigns to encourage capital backflow. Other developing countries have strengthened efforts to attract foreign capital.”

Shen added that U.S. companies are taking advantage of the European debt crisis to increase investment on the continent, and emerging economies such as India, Brazil, and Russia are becoming a new focus of investment by multinational corporations. All these factors will lead to changes in global foreign direct investment flows.

Domestically speaking, foreign companies are becoming less willing to increase investment in China amid rising labor costs, increasing shortage of land and other resources, and escalating financing problems, said Shen.

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What kind of investment? REAL GOODS non-polluting investors? Or shipping and air freight colluders that add cost to goods – also cause outflow of funds, hot money type of investment that destabilises currency, speculators that lock up commodities and inflate prices that may never come down making life difficult for the poorer Chinese, or property invester-hoarders cause housing price inflation? Maybe what looks like a tough year is a blessing in disguise, and that previous years should recalculate based on removal of the above examples of REAL investment vs. non-sustainable investment. REAL EARNINGS and REAL GDP is not based around the above mentioned issues.

Some tickets on high-speed rail services between Shanghai-Nanjing and Shanghai-Hangzhou have been cut.

But only the more expensive business and parlor seats will qualify for discounts of up to 30 percent. Other cheaper seats are not included, the Shanghai Railway Bureau said yesterday.

The discounts will cover 116 train services along the Shanghai-Nanjing and Shanghai-Hangzhou lines from May 18 until June 20, said the bureau.

“In the future the ticket prices will be adjusted based on market demand and transport seasons,” railway officials said of the first price cuts to be introduced since the high-speed lines came into operation in 2010.

The lines are among the busiest in the region with bullet trains leaving Shanghai railway stations for neighboring cities every five minutes during peak periods.

Qian Guifeng, the general manager with the Shanghai-Hangzhou railway passenger transport company, the regional operator, said yesterday the low take-up of the more expensive seats played a part in the price cuts.

A Shanghai Daily investigation found that by the time some bullet trains were about to leave Shanghai, the majority of business seats remained unsold.

On the railway operator’s ticket buying website, only one or two tickets for business carriages had been sold. Each bullet train has about 28 business seats available.

Business seats see the biggest price reductions. On the Shanghai-Nanjing line, a ticket that used to be 438 yuan (US$69.4) is now 307 yuan.

Discounts range from 10 to 30 percent on the business and parlor seats but the operator says they can vary depending on the time of purchase.

“It means little to a passenger like me,” said a man surnamed Zhu, who travels to the Yangtze River delta region on business.

Zhu said he usually bought a second-class, or ordinary seat ticket.

He said he hoped to see prices for second-class seats lowered too.

Meanwhile, an air-rail combined service began receiving passengers in Shanghai over the weekend.

The service allows passengers to transfer between domestic or international flights and a train with a single ticket which is cheaper than separate tickets.

Chinese moviegoers seeking to re-experience the romance of blockbuster Titanic from 14 years ago through the latest 3D version have been complaining about excessive censoring of nude scenes.

The 3D version of James Cameron’s epic returned to cinema screens in China Tuesday, but audiences looking forward to the scene of Jack drawing a nude portrait of Rose were disappointed to find it had been completely removed.

Xiao Fei, a resident of Nanchang, Jiangxi Province who booked tickets two days before the movie was released, expressed her disappointment about the cut after watching it Tuesday afternoon.

“I was a student in a primary school when I watched Titanic many years ago, but it was deeply ingrained in my memory, including the nude scene. It wasn’t deleted 14 years ago, and I don’t know why it was deleted this time,” she told the Global Times Tuesday.

The epic was released to incredibly high acclaim in China, with its heart-rending storyline winning over young Chinese viewers.

The original Titanic stormed to 360 million yuan ($57 million) in Chinese box office takings in 1998 and remained the country’s top earner for 10 years until 2009.

“I didn’t wait so many years to see a three-dimensional iceberg,” Xiao Fei said.

Insiders pointed out that the removal of the nude scene damaged the classic work, and also spoiled fans’ memories.

Zhang Jiangnan, the director of Midnight Taxi, told the Global Times that Titanic was the first movie he went to watch with a girl.

“This move (to cut the nude scene) went against the trend of the times and indicated the censorship system has failed to comply with the marketization of the film industry,” said Zhang.” I think we should pay attention to this change since this trend may be applied to other films yet to be shown or affect new productions.”

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Broadcast could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but some rumors circulated online that authorities decided to remove the scene out of concern that viewers may attempt to reach out and touch the screen during the scene and hit the heads of viewers sitting in front of them.

Despite the complaints from some audience members, Chinese fans were still largely enthusiastic about the release.

Since last week, cinemas in many cities have begun selling tickets for this movie and the IMAX 3D screenings are proving particularly popular.

“We can’t disclose the box office takings now, but the number of people watching Titanic is apparently larger than that for all other films,” director of the publicity department of Wanda Cinemas in Beijing, told the Global Times Tuesday.

According to sohu.com, the box office revenue of its debut show at midnight is estimated to reach 5 million yuan in China.

Commentator Comments :

@Daniel Templeton at 2012-04-1374.221.157.*

To edit the nude scene in Titanic is unfortunate. The government does not understand the intelligence of the Chinese people when this content is included in an artistic movie.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

I concur with Daniel Templeton, but not in the same manner. I’d say Titanic was all about the woman posing in the nude and the relationship with a poor guy who had to die because of poverty and the sick fascination of poor society with the ‘cuckold factor’ affecting wealthy men (reminder to at least be fair to homemakers for the mistress crazy guys). The ship takes an obvious back seat. Come to think, maybe a more ship oriented script should be rewritten instead. Titanic 1997 (James Cameron) is a romance film, not a ship film, with elements of greed and classist commentary thrown in (love the bland polished look of the rich kid, you can’t get any blander or more stereotypical), and some philosophy via a nice big fat gemstone being thrown into the sea by a decades later depicted haglike female star, to get the mind reflecting. Nope, not about the ship, even with the nude scene edited out. Note the ‘black heart’ pendant the actress was wearing during the nude scene. Any NPP (neuro-pictorial programming) intended?

Remind anyone of soft porn? NLP!

mini-ARTICLE 10.5

Backpage.com defiant over sex trade ads – May 7th, 2012 – 01:05 PM ET

Backpage.com, a small ads website, is not backing away from a small but profitable corner of the internet that is accused of being a marketplace for pimps to peddle prostitution and exploit young women.

The company says there’s nothing illegal about it, even though 51 attorneys general want to shut it down.

Backpage is just a website for crying out loud. It’s MEDIA, might as well be fantasy. Also this is not an issue as so long as both parties are consensual and non-abusive, they are free to communicate and exchange whatever they want. What so many websites do is make specific what any person is looking for and to allow another to find them. Is what anyone does any of our business at all to begin with? Voltaire would fight for the right to think and say what one wanted (1st Amendment), try now to fight for the right to LIVE how one wants. Trafficking is bad, but consensual prostitution is not. What the authorities should do is to send i plainclothes to ferret out those who were coerced or trafficked, those who are infectedwith disease to get treatment, and to leave EVERYONE ELSE alone.

‘If you saw your daughter . . . ‘ Liz McDougall

Demogoguery. If common sense is applied rather than law (see Note 1), we all do know that whats illegal is only illegal to anyone on a case by case basis and not specifically by the written law of the majority that tends to ignore the minority. And the essence of civilisation as opposed to MOB RULE (or rule by mob numbers in implemented laws) means that ALL and sundry will be allowed their spaces so long as all parties are consensual. In many cases prostitution is NOT coerced and simply viewed as either a form of entertainment or income, or a form of social interaction where money is involved (much like betting at golf or checkers), even in some cases ’empowerment’ via affirmation of the right to do as one will with one’s own body (regardless of male, female or inbetween)! Think the ‘minority of 1‘ rule that Mahatma Gandhi coined.

Even if a single soul, a single person wanted prostitution to be legal, their right would be inalienable because the world is large enough to have space for them. They may not be allowed to coerce anyone to participate by in the same light, but in turn cannot be forced to concur with what everyone else or a majority wants becauase they are not affecting anyone (save by the mental weakness of busybody people who make attempts to know what others do, which is again none of anyone else’s business), especially if assigned areas and zones are estalished. That is the essence of democracy and civilisation, the basis of American exceptionalism, not this rule by mob mentality shown here on CNN, which is frankly very un-American.

This is not necessarily about money or poverty, this is also about lifestyle. Without these websites, there will be absolutely no way or even electronic record of what and who happened. Meanwhile consider legalising RLDs (red light districts – think Singapore (Geylang), Mexico (Zona de Tolerancia etc..)) and OPZs (Organic Psychedelics Zones – think Amsterdam, Bolivia etc..) in ALL cities and towns, via enclosed zones at perhaps at the size of 1 dedicated street for every 100,000 people and a main road for every 1 million population. This way monitoring can be done at the checkpoint instead of everywhere unnecessary, resulting in unecesssary costs and Orwellian big society.

Proposed RLD and OPZ for State of Selangor (research on suitable RLDs and OPZs for other States will be posted when general research and feedback complete.) ‘Nuevo Laredo Zona’ from Mexico shown for comparison.

mini-ARTICLE 11

Reporter claims she was fired for being a stripper May 12, 2012 – 5:26 – Debate over woman’s legal case

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

A specialist reporter holding 1 job would be better but since there was no contract to only hold 1 job, or not be involved in adult work, there was no right to fire at all. Moral discrimination occurred here. ‘Uncomfortable’ watchers need to get over this, though unless particularly nosy, or from the immediate community who knows the reporter personally, none would know or even bother (unless from the moral lunatic fringe) what the reporter does in her free time. It’s not like shes a member of their family, in which case she’d still have a right to continue what she does, though the immediate family members could have a limited right to say something though not at a level amounting to mental torture or invasions of privacy (much less neighbours).

A law to prevent even contracts limiting an employee to 1 job (especially if the job does not pay particularly alot, applicable only to salaries USD$5000 monthly and below???) could allow and employer to justify applying the ‘1 job only rule’. (i.e. the job pays so much that there is no need for a second job). Only way above middle class salary payouts could be allowed to enforce the 1 job rule.

In fact adult services jobs should be treated like any other job unless a network declares their news as specifically child friendly, specially for a religious community or for a specifically extra-P.C. (easily offended upper class?) target demographic. The government could consider pensions for all registered sex workers, perhaps at a rate of 1 year worth of pension for every 3000 clients services and recorded or logged in. This in fact could help prevent spread of disease when detected (i.e. if detected, tracebacks could be done etc..).

As for the right to fire issue, an example : if a news network has featured any beauty contests with bikini clad women, firing BASED on private out of employment time in adult services jobs is not justifiable. If said news network refuses to feature anyone wearing anything above the knees, disallows cleavage or disallows images of bare chested men, THEN could the firing on such a basis be justified, though such a news network would be the territory of, and appeal to, the ‘moral lunatic fringe’ demographoc. Which fringe does Fox belong to? The demogogue fringe part of the time for certain, but not the moral lunatic as well? Better get out those burkhas . . . (if Fox disallows Burkhas then we’d have to use the hypocrite label for Fox News as well . . . ).

Note 1 : For example, a person smashes a police car’s window and gets a few month’s prison at cost to your tax money. Would you not prefer that the same person simply be required to repair the vehicle at cost to their own finances (or be put on community service for hours of work equitable to the cost of damage caused) and not be imprisoned at cost to the citizens’ tax monies, while the same person wrongfully lose their job (caused damage so pay for damage, the person did not cause loss of jobs so should not lose their job by being imprisoned). Meanwhile society loses access to their tax contributions, loses their presence and work they do (remember this person’s issue is against the single police car, not even the police, hardly society -jailing is etirely unrelated for purposes of re-education or pubishment) and inconveniences their boss who has to retrain a staff for the period of imprisonment? From this paragraph, we learn that LAW does not apply COMMON SENSE. Therefore most laws and criminal codes for punishment need to be re-written.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — Studying abroad last year, I missed Bersih 2.0 and felt a sense of regret each time I listened to the stories my friends had to tell of their experiences that day. Providence permitted my attendance at Bersih 3.0 last Saturday.

In the past few years, this is a story that has been unfolding at an accelerating pace: the story of Malaysia striving to grow as a democracy.

As legitimate as Bersih’s demands are, what drives people to brave the crowds and the inherent risks of such a gathering? Mere intellectual assent to Bersih’s demands shouldn’t be enough to bring thousands to the city streets.

I suggest a major reason for the decision of most people to flood the streets of KL on Saturday was a desire to be a part of the story. For those who agree to Bersih’s demands, along with it is the recognition by many that they must themselves be the agents working for the desired outcome.

Alternate stories

I must first confess that I left soon after Datuk Ambiga called the rally a success and advised people to disperse slowly before 3pm. I headed home, reflecting on my part in the story, ready to write out my thoughts when I arrived home. Of course, everyone now knows that the rally drastically changed — but I only found out after getting text messages on the LRT and checking the news myself upon reaching home.

This put me in the unique position of having lived out one version of the story in my mind (based on what I had experienced up to that point), before having it rewritten as I learned of the actual outcome of Bersih 3.0.

Thus, I had two sets of reflections: one based on the alternate history I had thought would transpire, and one based on actual history. Instead of scrapping one and presenting the other, I felt that together they would offer a glimpse into the yearning for democracy by Bersih supporters.

An ideal world

As I reflected on the parts of Bersih 3.0 I had been a part of — the sense of belonging I got from seeing so many like-minded people, the sense of cheer that grew along with the crowd’s size and the euphoria at chanting together — I realised that the most powerful moments were those where significance was distributed to all people present. In contrast, the speeches of leaders could not give us a fraction of courage that singing “Negaraku” together did. In other words, the power comes from the collective — when democracy is at its strongest.

Democracy, in its (ideal) goal of distributing power to all individuals, satisfies what the philosopher Hegel called the “struggle for recognition”. Along with the humbling realisation that one plays only a small part in the whole comes the terrifying revelation that one is at last playing a part.

Paradoxically, the way to significance is to take on that small role, not necessarily losing yourself in the masses, but involving yourself in the part that every citizen in a democracy is called to play. Many present at Bersih 3.0 would have seen it as their civic duty for the country they love — even though their individual voices would not have been heard.

This contrasts with the archetypal literary vision of the hero, where significance is derived from individual acts of heroism. But as is evident in Bersih, the power of the movement lies in its numbers and not in any one person — the large turnout was the crucial reason Ambiga called it a success before advising us to disperse. The government and Election Commission need not listen to a few solitary voices no matter how valid their arguments are, but they cannot ignore thousands of citizens merely showing up in Kuala Lumpur even if all they do is sit down and chant slogans.

This is why it is crucial that Bersih remains a civil society movement — hijacked by personalities and politicians, it may get more sound bites at press conferences and visibility but it will lose all legitimate power.

So why the push for democracy? So that citizens can finally attain significance by taking on the role they are all called to in society. In a rally like this, each plays only a small part but it is nonetheless the appointed cross to bear. Nothing more, but also nothing less. We are not merely spectators, but agents bringing about genuine democracy in Malaysia.

The real world

I had left believing that democracy, the sharing of power, was good for Malaysia because it brought the most good for its people in their struggle for significance. If this account sounds overly idealistic, reality hit me hard and fast when I heard of how the rally ended.

I won’t speculate much here on the causes of the chaos that transpired, except to say that amidst the theories of involving provocation and saboteurs, there were undoubtedly Bersih supporters who acted with violence. Many friends of mine are outraged that our contribution will be tainted by the senselessness of these individuals.

This could not bring me further from the (brief) vision I had of my ideal world. Bersih was meant to showcase the best of us, and make a case for why democracy should work. Even those who were cynical and expected a harsh police presence would have remembered the accounts from Bersih 2.0 of the collective spirit and people helping one another in the face of danger. But to have violence instigated and perpetuated by those pushing for democracy went contrary to what many hoped for and expected.

But even as my optimism gave way I maintained my belief that democracy is what Malaysia needs and what we must continue to fight (peacefully) for. However, while I briefly saw democracy as a vehicle to Malaysia’s good because if fulfils people’s drive for significance, I now see it as necessary for a different reason.

The end of Bersih 3.0 showed that the line between good and evil runs not across party lines or those for/against a cause. The line runs down the middle of every human heart. Without diminishing the culpability of the government and police, even earnest supporters of Bersih were shown to be capable of violence and hatred. The writer C.S. Lewis said that democracy was necessary because “no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows”.

In other words, we need democracy not because we are good, but because we are fallen and imperfect. The dilution of power amongst a nation’s people is necessary to avoid any one person or group to have the platform for unleashing the evil that potentially lies within. This doesn’t void their potential for good, but it is naïve to believe that we are each not capable of the slow descent to corruption.

A single vision

But this also means that those seemingly on the side of evil and corruption must still know what goodness is. Just like Bersih supporters revealed their worst when provoked, perhaps the best of those leaning towards violence lies deep within, conditioned and numbed into impotence but waiting to be redeemed.

The sobering events of April 28 (leading to my opposing reflections) need not leave us in a state of hopelessness. The best and the worst of human nature were showcased — but both make a strong case for the need for democracy in Malaysia.

What we must remember is that the fight for democracy lies not just on a national level to combat corruption and injustice — it lies within as we struggle each day to do the right and moral thing. So for all of you who went peacefully and courageously, who didn’t throw the first stone (literally) and who turned the other cheek (figuratively): blessed are you peacemakers.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Evil is when a property ‘investor’ holds 10s to 1000s of units of unusable and crumbling shophouses and offices when truly productive business are destroyed by loansharks part of the local business cartels, and simple lower income families who are homeless or severely indebted, due to, or unable to access those half million so-called ‘shophouses’ which are a minimum when educations cost 10s to 100s of thousands.

This is the flaw of uncontrolled Capitalism and the need for aspects of Soacialism/Marxism in governance. Capitalism only creates collusion and greedy loophole writing MPs and plutocrats sequestering extreme wealth to the demise of wealth distribution and the rise of anarchy from extreme poverty of the 99% who will doubtless be pushed towards a French Revolution, with the plutocracy now being the ‘Bastille’ of today and the anarchists/Marxists (moderate Marxists, again extreme anything will never work, and we arein extreme Capitalism conditions as of now) being the guillotine.

‘I must first confess that I left soon after Datuk Ambiga called the rally a success and advised people to disperse slowly before 3pm.’ . . .

More Bersih c0ckt3451ng. IMHO Ambiga is a tool of the establishnent to waste the energies and the funds of protesters who could be better off running as candidates to challenge theestavlishment. As noted earlier, Bersih amounts to nothing without lawsuits by trhe so called leaders. Angry crowds do not gather for nothing. And the youth would be better off forming NEW political parties that should remove corrupt and racist BN and also nepotistic and clique political power sequestering, term limitless mentality (ala Mubarak) PR.

Bersih was a failure and waste of youthful energy and bail out fund resources, the so called leaders ‘masturbating’ the people to no purpose except to defuse energies that could form new political parties and coalitions as the proposed 3rd force to displace useless coalitions BN and PR. 3rd forcers and youthful protesters should run for :

;and GTFO of parliament after 2 terms of doing some good, not parasiting off the Rakyat for decades, holding term limitless MP seats and throwing hegelian dialectic nonsense instead of ENDING taxes or Vehicular AP (took ‘Family Bloc’ Nurul near 3 years to act on this) or Tolls (PAS pulled off 1 bulldoze but that seemed to be the all of Pakatan’s action against government-GLC collusion-encroachment upon the regular citizen’s ‘Freedom of Navigation’ ON LAND –in their own country to boot . . . ), National Service Bill’s forced military conscriptions (illegal by any interpretation of the UNHCR), or the all important 3 items listed above.

KUCHING: While Chief Minister Taib Mahmud has welcomed the registration of the Sarawak Workers’ Party (SWP), which is linked to “buddy” Sng Chee Hua, insiders in both the state Barisan Nasional and the opposition are wary.

Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian urged the people to examine SWP’s policies and gauge for themselves which way the party will lean towards.

“Is SWP inclined to support BN or is it inclined to support Pakatan Rakyat policies for Sarawak?

“The people must examine whether this party is built on the basis of fighting or defending the rights of Sarawakians such as the native customary rights land, employment and the 18- and 20-point agreements.

“This are the things we want SWP to answer,” said Bian, who is the Ba’Kelalan assemblyman.

“To me it is obvious that SWP is inclined towards being BN-friendly. So it is clear that it is not with us.

“These things can assist voters in the villages to make a good judgment, and I know they are fully aware of the party’s policies.

“I am confident they will make a wise decision. This coming election is crucial to Sarawakians who want change. And this is our bigger mission,” he said.

SWP aiming for PRS seats

Santubong MP Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who is the Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, questioned the motive of the party to contest in the coming election.

“It risks becoming a mosquito party. It will only appear during the election season, but disappear when the election is over. This would only confuse the people.

“If the party really fights for the people, it must make sure that it continues to work for the interests of the people before and after the election,” Wan Junaidi said.

Sng had said that SWP would target only six constituencies which are allocated to PRS (Parti Rakyat Sarawak), a member of the BN coalition.

Lately Sng, who was the former Julau MP, has been seen mobilising support for the party in Julau, Selangau, Kanowit and Hulu Rajang.

PRS vice-president and Tamin assemblyman Joseph Mauh said that his party is not perturbed by the emergence of SWP, describing it as an “old wine in a new bottle”.

‘Old wine, new bottle’

“We are not worried about the new party because it is old wine in a new bottle, and those who had drunk the wine would know its taste,” he said, referring to Sng’s previous records as Julau MP and assemblyman for Pelagus in the days of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS).

“SWP may be a new party but certainly it is no stranger to us. I don’t think it can win any seat,” he said.

But what puzzled him is that the party, while claiming to be BN-friendly, is fighting PRS, a member of the BN.

“It is very funny and there is no logic,” he said.

“Why is it targeting PRS? What does this mean?” Mauh asked.

State BN secretary-general, Stephen Rundi, who is also PBB secretary-general, regarded SWP as the BN’s opponent.

“We will treat every opponent in the same way. Similarly if the new party wishes to oppose us, we will fight back,” Rundi reportedly said.

But his boss, Taib seems to have a different view. He has welcomed SWP into the political scene with gusto, saying “the more the merrier” as the state practised democracy.

Comments

written by Vincenzo, April 24, 2012 23:39:44
@Alan Newman

Yes, Sarawakians are relenting and forgiving people. It is our culture. We are a likeable, peaceful and hospitable people although we are slowly changing due to circumstances forced upon us. It’s a shame we have to change to be nastier in order to fight for what are rightfully ours. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense – why do we have to fight for what are already ours?

So, I need to ask you why your kind put us in this position where we have to fight to keep what are ours. Why did the Cobbold Commission not undertake a referendum for the people of Sarawak in the early 1960s to determine whether we want to help form Malaysia or not? It is because of Malaysia that we are in the shit that we are in today. Why did the Brits ( Aussies and Kiwis included in the 1960s then ) abandoned us to the wolves?

Alan, your kind cannot claim any moral high grounds and tell us that it is ” zero tolerance & striking back with the greatest force ” time when it was your kind who left us in this shit in the first place. What are you going to do to right the wrong that your kind left us with?

To call us gutless, pathetic, tragic, you have to remember that our once proud people took heads and waged wars even on the White Rajahs and took the heads of quite a few Whites. If the need arise again, I doubt if we will ever hesitate.

And if you send us a lot of money, then many of us will go to BERSIH which will be held in KL some 600 miles across the South China Sea from Borneo Island. Aiya, some 50 years of being Malaysian have left us Sarawakians very poor since much economic development and stimuli do not reach our people. Until today, we only have one coastal road going from Kuching to Miri. There are no other roads in the interior of Sarawak and more than 1 million people live in the jungles in the interior off-grid and with no piped water.

You further wrote that that ” Politicians are the roots of all the problems in the world ” . Well, I respectfully disagree. In a democratic system, the systems and institutions that are put in place must be adequately independent of each other. The checks and balances provided for in any constitution must be cast in stone for any democratic society to function effectively. It is when the independence of these democratic systems and institutions are curtailed that democracy begins to fail us. Therefore for a democracy to function effectively, there must be adequate independence and checks and balances on the institutions and systems of a democratic society.

On the other hand, for a person to be truly fair, that person must have impeccable integrity but if we agree that every man has his price, no matter where they are, obviously, any democratic political system will fail sometimes since they are made up of people. What is important is that when the system fails, there must be effective agencies to remove the compromised part from the system.

Alan, I know you meant well and on behalf of us Sarawakians, I want to thank you for the concerns that you have for us. However, let me assure you that the winds of change are blowing as it is also in Sabah and in Malaya and I am confident that we will see a change in government in the future. There is only so much nonsense that the people of this country can take for so long. Enough is enough. However, I must remind you that we are in this shit mainly because of British (Australian and Kiwis included) highhandedness.

…
written by alan newman, NZ, April 24, 2012 17:03:29
Why are you so forgiving & relenting? Have they- PBB, BN got a trace of the people’s interest at heart? NO! It’s endless tricks, acrobatics & deception to stay in power. Not after 55 years of BN & UMNO! It must now be zero tolerance & striking back with the greatest force. If you research globally & think thoroughly: Politicians are the roots of all the problems in the world: pillage & plunder; cronies; in-equality of races & incomes; apartheid; hardship & grief turning to crime & tragedy; trillions of $$$ wasted worldwide on corruption, thefts, land-grabs, resource-grabs, amassing of projects, money outflow & laundering, white elephants & kickbacks; abuses, mismanagements, misuses, crime-fighting, strife, riots, wars. In the end, to cling to power & luxury, they will kill. Look at Idi Amin, Africa, N. Korea, Arab Spring.

…
written by alan newman, NZ, April 24, 2012 17:00:10
If you research globally & think thoroughly: Politicians are the roots of all the problems in the world: pillage & plunder; cronies; in-equality of races & incomes; apartheid; hardship & grief turning to crime & tragedy; trillions of $$$ wasted worldwide on corruption, thefts, land-grabs, resource-grabs, amassing of projects, money outflow & laundering, white elephants & kickbacks; abuses, mismanagements, misuses, crime-fighting, strife, riots, wars. In the end, to cling to power & luxury, they will kill. Look at Idi Amin, Africa, N. Korea, Arab Spring.
So why are you so forgiving & relenting? Have they – BN, UMNO got a trace of the people’s interest at heart? NO! It’s endless tricks, acrobatics & deception to stay in power. Not after 55 years of BN & UMNO! It must now be zero tolerance & striking back with the greatest force.

…
written by alan newman, NZ, April 24, 2012 16:55:05
In New Zealand, Taito Philip Field, an MP was jailed for corruption (eg using new immigrants to paint his houses), and after 31 years! your Sarawak Chief Minister is still walking and talking proud and stealing billions from you. In NZ He would have been in jail 30 and half years ago. Why are you so gullible & forgiving? For me, NOT ANOTHER HOUR! None of you have any guts. Pathetic. Tragic…. And how many are going out to BERSIH gathering?

Brian Pirit,
Do these look like Chinese-based areas to you? Chinese-based party? To replace SUPP? You’ve got to be joking. Why must you look at anything from a racialist perspective? SWP is supported and most likely financed by the Sng Family. But, I know George Lagong the assemblyman for Pelagus is Larry’s uncle. So it is not entirely a Chinese affair. But you seem to see this as a Chinese plot. I think BTN has gotten to you. But you are right about. This exercise is about splitting Dayak votes.

…
written by John Rimbau Sarawak, April 24, 2012 09:54:47
When SNAP was strong in the 70s and early 80s, it was split right down the middle by the emergence of PBDS. But when PBDS in turn became stronger, it was split in the same manner as SNAP was. The same old stry was replayed once again with the SUPP which is now split between the SIbu and Kuching/Miri factions. This is the same for PRS with the formation of SWP. And who is behind all these shenanigans ? The Thief Minister of Sarawak of course, Taib is his name.

…
written by brian pirit, April 24, 2012 01:05:09
The Divide and Rule master destroyer at his game again. Another chinese base party to replace the out of favour SUPP perhaps? Sng said he has the dayaks at heart but why divide the Dayaks with this chinese base party? Certainly a conspiracy between a fake dayak and a melayNOW to further split the dayaks. Why esle would he approve of the registration of SWP? Lets wipe that stupid grin off his face this coming GE!

…
written by malsia1206, April 23, 2012 21:26:53
When you have an ally by your side, he better stay weaker than you.
When your ally gets too strong for comfort, your own position is at risk.
Both PRS and SPDP are getting to unravel the nerves of the CM. Both have a strong support rural base. Should either or both play the u-turn, the CM may languish in the newly-built prison in the Kuching outskirt.
So welcome abroad, SWP. I need a checkmate.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

More fail. This is intended to impose Hudud eventually, and as mentioned elsewhere, Hudud can only be applied on a case by case person by person acceptance. This is illegal and should be challenged by democratic Islamic scholars as ‘there can be no compulsion in religion‘ (Quran verse, Al Bakara 2:16). Such fatwas will be issued in a manner that compels. Islam if used as a political tool of control will damn any who do not follow the spirit of the Quran, especially more so for affecting non-Muslims.

With a politically-motivated Elections Commission (EC), Malaysians face the dirtiest general elections in history. As all other efforts to clean up the electoral process has failed, civil society has no other choice but to group under Bersih to involve all Malaysians to press for clean elections in the Bersih sit in protest tomorrow.

Tunku’s remarks is not the DAP stand but his own personal view. Senator Tunku is alone amongst the entire DAP Central Executive Committee in his stand on Bersih 3.0 at Dataran Merdeka.

Tunku has not notified the party leadership that he would be making his position publicly. By making his stand public, Tunku has contradicted the principle of collective leadership and decision-making where whilst one can disagree, but as leaders we all have to abide by the majority decision made by the party leadership.

This has placed the party in an embarrassing position of being criticized by our own Senator for fully endorsing Bersih’s sit-in protest as an exercise of a basic human right of peaceful assembly.

By opposing Bersih when so many Malaysians are working hard to effect change for a clean electoral process, Tunku has undermined their efforts and given a gift to BN and the tainted EC.

Time has come to ensure a bright and clean future for our kids

I have conveyed to Tunku Aziz the party’s rebuke and the unhappiness of almost all DAP members at the public expression of his personel views against Bersih’s sit-in protest. I have also impressed upon him that whilst DAP allow differences of opinion within the party, publicly opposing a policy decision taken by the party in the manner Tunku has conducted himself does more harm than good.

For the electorally abuses by a politically inclined EC, where its top officials were UMNO members that has allowed itself to be used as a tool by BN, DAP fully supports and will mobilize its members for the Bersih sit-in protest for clean elections on 2pm 28 April 2012 nation-wide. DAP urges all Malaysians to join the Bersih rallies nation-wide, especially at Dataran Merdeka.

DAP strongly condemns the actions and warnings by the government, especially Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur, to ban this peaceful sit-in protest by instilling fear of untoward incidents. The use of fear tactics only betrays the real character of the BN government as dictatorial and tyrannical. As American President Thomas Jefferson said,

When a government fears the people, there is liberty;

When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The most fearful thing is term limitless Oligarchs and NEPOTISM in political parties that destroy activists instead of welcoming them so that they can be afforded some protection for ‘services rendered’. I do not agree with Tunku’s tacit approval of apartheid or lack of Article 18 UNHCR by a glaringly obvious non address of the issues (thus rendering the lack of address by LGE on the same apartheid issue even more obvious), but a political party that has no principles or ethics deserves no support from ANYONE.

For the neglect that near caused and has caused deaths, I am 100% with Tunku if that will remove product of nepotism LGE’s quorumless nepotistic golden parachute beneficiary mouth shooting off here on the media and online. Replacing the devil BN with the DAP deep blue sea (red ocean type to boot I warn), if not an option. How about Tunku lead the 3rd Force and drop these bunch of unethical nepotistic and uninclusive Pakatan losers who steal and parrot ideas instead of giving credit where is due. Have at Pakatan! And BN is an apartheid party so corrupt that the Human Rights Council should be shamed for allowing Malaysia to be a member of the Human Rights panel. Idiot politicians! 3rd Force when are you making your move? Get together and start organising yourselves, we had enough of the family blocs and selfishness of Pakatan and the apartheid-racism and corruption of BN!

All family bloc and apartheid and fundo 3rd world countries deserve no respect or UN standing. UN should boycott and condemn Malaysia at every turn hereon. LGE is one Tunku short of getting his a$$ canned by the BN, but pushes for idiotic face gaining, point scoring b.s. by arguing instead of Ending Apartheid or obtaining the above 3 Items with Tunku Aziz’s help. As mentioned before, LGE is the worst so-called ‘leader’ ever. File that lawsuit yet? Ready to resign as CM over apartheid? No? Then GTFO of Penang, there is no quorum to justify that CM’s seat with, and dad is just a Mubarak style term limitless MP that deserves to be booted for destroying democracy with cult of personality. Without address of apartheid, arguing with Tunku makes for a meaningless political party.

ARTICLE 4

Bersih: The negotiation for freedom — Zara Kahan – April 27, 2012

APRIL 27 — Umno’s old guards have called (their) Malaysia’s version of democracy a “guided” democracy, as if we are a nation of brain-damaged children who need our hands held at the polls.

Label it however you like. In actuality, the democratic nature and state of freedom in every nation in the world is not a static thing; it is a continuous negotiation between those in power and the people who have decided to give them that power.

Governing a nation is no easy thing, and certain limitations to freedom are necessary to maintain stability and security. The fairness of these limitations, however, depend on the nature of the people we elect, and human beings are corruptible creatures, susceptible to greed, fear and gross errors in judgment.

Even in the oldest democracies, such as America and Britain, the extent of freedom enjoyed by every citizen is not a static concept. The Patriot Act has allowed extreme infringements on individual liberty, and a sizeable number of these individuals accept it because it is done in the name of keeping bomb-wielding jihadis away from them.

Similarly, from the very conception of Malaysia, we have accepted several trade-offs. Want a stable economy? Shut up. Want a safe nation? Let us jail men who criticise the government.

Malaysia as we know it is a result of silent negotiations done over the years, in which the inaction of the majority of people signified that this is an acceptable bargain.

Is Bersih a sign that the majority opinion has changed? It’s hard to quantify since both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat love exaggerating the amount of support they have while most folks will keep their opinions to themselves.

Numbers aside, this is simply another turn in a cycle of pushing and pulling for more freedom, and Bersih will not solve everything. Neither will a new government, no matter what Anwar Ibrahim may promise you.

There is no big cure that will save us; even if all 22 recommendations of the Bersih committee replaced our national anthem, our freedom will never be guaranteed infinitely.

Sorry people, but our mechanism relies on human beings and the flesh is weak.

On a more positive note, the dialogue between Us The Rakyat and Kerajaan Yang Dikasihi has definitely gone beyond the silence and grudging consent that plagued the years of the generation before us.

There is a voice that will ring in Dataran Merdeka tomorrow, and no matter what you think of it, as Malaysians we must appreciate the quality of that voice; strong, clear and unyielding.

This is a tone that will create a difference in this ongoing negotiation to protect our rights as free men and women.

* Zara Kahan reads The Malaysian Insider

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Zara sounds like she’s from the generation that she labelled ‘before us’. This makes this response writer’s (moi) generation earlier than Zara’s as evn contrasted by those evidently younger than moi. Hey old lady, stop speaking for the establishment and pretending top be the YOUNG VOICE of Bersih. Freedom is INFINITE, and these punks will be wild. But perhaps limited by zones – FOR NOW . . . you beneficiary dreamer or post-beneficiary shill!

We’ll uncover how your dad and your family got their wealth or if they are involved in orphanages as a certain Mokhtar character might be, behind her corrupted older generation beneficiary of cronyism dad (if not true, please ignore). Sickening.

Aged, middle aged and young. Got it? Zara belongs to the ‘RPK Old’ bunch even if actually a young person. So stop talking as if ‘this generation’ is to be limited in acquisition of social democratic protections. We’ll abolish taxes and apartheid, as well as make apostasy legal in a single election as well as establish nudist and RLD, OPZ, zones in international cities Insyallah (for non-Muslims of course). REAL PEOPLE first not, the aged and the stuffy or the establishment or establishment fette-er. The negotiation for freedom is unending and absolute, as anything less means authoritarianism at worst (though overpopulation can ruin everything . . . ).

This group of leaders can file a lawsuit that is legally binding that international observers can watch. Then IF the leaders get arrested, a ‘March for Freedom of the Arrested (that peacefully filed lawsuits)’ becomes appropriate. Not the leaders march amidst media fanfare without a lawsuit and people induced to join getting hurt. AND the ‘leaders’ got away scot free, which indicates possible collusion with BN ! See article on Ambiga and Khairy sitting doesn for a ‘tete-a-tete.’ This achieves nothing and shows there is no risk to the so-called Bersih ‘leaders’ (. . . now we know why Onsokumaru landed on that water bottle . . . ).

EPIC SMILING (Crocodile) FAIL. People were beaten and tear gassed causing several to faint. From reports 1 person died, 2 others crushed by a car. Though fortunately for the rest, no worse than temporary detentions occurred. Smiling broadly again eh? File those lawsuits like real leaders to avoid this sort of thing. Stop being strawmen clowns!

Understand what’s going on Rakyat? Hegelian Dialectic! Run for candidacy as independents or join 3rd Force Parties on the below 3 items!

KUALA LUMPUR– Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim often likes to portray himself to the world as Malaysia’s great crusader, peaceably agitating for change against a seemingly unbending, authoritarian regime.

After Bersih 2.0 last year, he played the victim quite persuasively, mobilising his friends in the foreign media to attack the government for taking “brutal action” against peaceful protesters.

But after his questionable role in Bersih 3.0, Anwar’s star appears to be waning. In fact, things have gone downhill that — far from heralding him as a democrat — many are now accusing Anwar of inciting violence.

Video footages from Bersih 3.0 posted on YouTube shows Anwar making a curious rolling gesture with his hands to PKR deputy president Azmin Ali. Within seconds, PKR supporters breached the police barricades and charged into Merdeka Square, prompting the police to respond with tear gas and water cannons to prevent a stampede.

In an interview with Radio Australia on Tuesday, Anwar denied that his hand gesture was a signal to protestors to breach the barricades, instead claiming implausibly that it meant, “negotiate with the police”.

People will make up their own mind about the truth, but so far, few outside observers appear convinced.

“Mr Anwar has some explaining to do”, was The Economist’s verdict – and, here in Malaysia, Anwar’s role in Bersih 3.0 has been similarly criticised by people from many ends of the political spectrum.

At a PKR press conference on Monday, independent filmmaker Benji Lim accused Anwar of endangering the lives of protesters, as well as jeopardising Bersih’s cause. The protest “was completely hijacked by the opposition,” he exclaimed, before being bundled unceremoniously out of the room.

Even Bersih 3.0 chief organiser Ambiga Sreenevasan has lamented Bersih’s politicisation by opposition leaders, telling journalists that she “cannot control what they say”.

Anwar has dismissed any criticism of his conduct. Instead, at the press conference, he launched a bizarre attack on the government, accusing the Barisan Nasional leadership of behaving like Stalin and Hitler.

He went on to suggest his fate was comparable to a Nazi concentration camp victim – a claim made even more appalling because he was speaking on the exact anniversary of Hitler’s death.

This episode, whichever way you cut it, also raises broader questions about Anwar himself, and his opposition allies.

Can persons who hijack a peaceful rally for their personal political ends be fit to lead a nation of 28 million people?

Do they have a steady, prudent hand that we need to guide our country’s burgeoning economy?

To those who know the opposition politicians well, say that what happened on April 28 was unsurprising.

This time round, the opposition politicians have been caught on film footages, which will bear witness to their actions.

Political observers say that Anwar has often been seen indulging in “hand gesture politics”, revelling in grand spectacles but offering voters little in terms of a detailed blueprint for transformation.

Finally, many would say, Anwar’s “hand gesture politics” appear to have backfired.

Don’t be surprised to see him spend much of the coming weeks and months explaining what his Bersih hand gesture really meant.

Lim labelled as “incomprehensible” the police force’s failure to take stock of its previous mismanagement of public assemblies. — File pic
KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — Bar Council chief Lim Chee Wee today called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) next Friday to discuss the storm of issues surrounding last Saturday’s Bersih 3.0 rally for electoral reforms, two days after accusing the authorities of human rights violations and widespread brutality.

Notice for the May 11 EGM was issued on the Malaysian Bar’s official website earlier this afternoon, to discuss a motion “in relation to the events of and surrounding the public rally on 28 April 2012 organised by Bersih 3.0, and matters in connection therewith”.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak earlier today labelled last Saturday’s demonstration an attempt by certain quarters to overthrow the elected Barisan Nasional (BN) government, as he hardened his administration’s position towards the electoral reform movement.

Lim had previously said that the Bar’s monitoring team found more instances of police brutality compared to last year’s July 9 Bersih event.

He previously said the authorities failed to take heed of criticism and recommendations outlined by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) with regards to police conduct during Bersih’s first two rallies, and lamented on how “little has changed.”

“It is incomprehensible, if not a reflection of the sheer incompetence or arrogance of the police force, that it has not learnt from its past mistakes in the management of assemblies of people exercising their constitutional right, so well documented and analysed by Suhakam in its two reports and the pending ongoing inquiry.

“Police brutality this time around has been magnified; there is more police brutality (compared to last year.) There was arbitrary use of tear gas, water cannons,” Lim told a news conference last Tuesday.

The lawyer said that last weekend’s events showed an “urgent” need for the police force to undergo a “transformation programme”, to be changed by force of statute through the establishment of the recommended Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

He said the Bar’s interim report on the Bersih 3.0 rally had found that the rally was peaceful until around 3pm when the police unleashed water cannon and tear gas on the crowd; the use of force by the police without any obvious provocation or cause, was far worse, indiscriminate, disproportionate and excessive; and police brutality more widespread.

It also noted a concerted effort by the police to prevent and stop any recording of their actions and conduct. Such actions included firing tear gas directly at the crowd and in such pattern as to box in the participants rather than allow them to disperse quickly.

According to the council, this was found to elicit pockets of retaliatory behaviour by some participants of the rally. The police were also observed taunting and mocking the crowd. When items were thrown by some of the participants at the police, the police responded in kind.

Lastly, the report highlighted that not all police personnel were wearing and displaying their police identification number on their uniforms.

Lim also said that the authorities had disregarded provisions within the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (UNBPUFF), the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (UNCC), and Amnesty International guidelines.

The Bar EGM will take place at the Sunway Putra Hotel (formerly the Legend Hotel) in the city at 3pm next Friday.

Nurul Izzah said Pekema lacked the metrics to proclaim the AP system as beneficial to Bumiputeras. — File pic
KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — Putrajaya must do away with the current approved permit (AP) system for imported cars as it only benefited a small, select group of politically-connected Bumiputeras, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers said today.

They pointed out that no area of the Federal Constitution expressly grants to Bumiputeras AP licensing rights, and that such claims were a “complete stretch of the imagination.”

Bumiputera car dealers association Pekema as well as Malay rights lobby Perkasa have demanded that the government maintain Malaysia’s controversial permit system for imported cars, saying that the current system benefited Bumiputera businesses.

Both groups maintain that the privileges under the AP system was a guaranteed Bumiputera constitutional right, and came under the purview of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,

“Pekema is talking [nonsense]. Find me the clause in the Constitution that says cars must have APs. And (that) whatever APs must be for Bumis. It takes a complete stretch of the imagination to interpret any clause on the special position of Malays to mean constitutionally guaranteed AP privileges,” DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua told The Malaysian Insider.

Pua said that associations such as Pekema were only speaking for themselves in wanting to maintain the “rent-seeking” practices of the AP system.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP added that the AP system served no other purpose than to make its beneficiaries “instant millionaires.”

Pua said Article 153 was being twisted to extend to APs.
According to Pua, the onus was on the government to ensure that APs were put on open tender so that only genuine and qualified business operators would secure the licences to import cars, instead of “middlemen seeking instant profits.”

“The taxpayers loses more than a billion ringgit a year as a result of the giving away of APs to selected cronies instead of being sold via auction to all businesses or interested parties.”

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar advised Pekema to demand from the government a disclosure of the recipients of APs since the programme’s inception before extolling its success.

“Without such data, how would we ascertain its usefulness for the majority of Bumiputeras?

“As it is, the majority of the recipients are ‘Umnoputras’ — and they are gaining profit at the expense of the country’s wealth,” she told The Malaysian Insider.

The Lembah Pantai MP said PR’s position was for a gradual “phasing out” of the AP system, and to assist poor Malays and Bumiputeras through a targeted subsidy programme as well as overall improvement on “education/employment and social [progress] opportunities.”

Pekema and Perkasa have demanded that the government prioritise Bumiputera interests before conforming to set international trade agreements such as the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta).

Pekema president Datuk Zainuddin Abd Rahman said on Monday that the association is seeking royal intervention to block the Najib administration’s plans to phase out the AP system for imported cars by 2015.

“The only ones who can cancel the AP are the Agong and the Malay Rulers, so it cannot be cancelled,” said Zainuddin.

“The AP is included as part of permits, permits under Article 153 of the Constitution, which guarantees Malay and Bumiputera rights along with reserve land, scholarships, government posts.”

He said that the AP system was the “most successful” system for Bumiputeras, touting it as one of the main accomplishments of the New Economic Policy (NEP).

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Oh great, family bloc Nurul is back, but at least on something meaningful. (lets hope PAS has not gotten all soft on Tolls, the Prophet would definitely not have tolerated Tolls while he wandered the deserts in the past, there were no cars, but beasts of burden and only highway robbers and bandits would demand cash for merely travelling). How about addressing the 2 systems of citizenship for equality Nurul? AP is more tolerable than APARTHEID !

ARTICLE 2

See newspaper clipping . . .

Nepotism being addressed? Or just a feel good lie to defuse voter anger toward the horribly nepotistic and closed to 'outsiders' DAP political party?

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

One lynchpin less out of a score of family blocs is no victory but worthy of mention. 1 out of 222 MPs less a family bloc is good news anyday – Lim Guan Eng’s (that parachute nepotistsm beneficiary ‘CM of Penang’ character who doesn’t condemn apartheid for what apartheid is . . . ) wife may not run for GE13. Lets see if this is another false flag) much like the failed declaration of MP assets, the failed quorums on supposedly free EXCO Local Council Elections (we taxpayers are paying the salaries of the unvoted EXCOs as of now by the way) and other abuses of power by DAP.

The Penang Chief Minister has been staying in a rented bungalow – all paid for by taxpayers – claiming that the official residence Seri Teratai is termite infested and leaking.

But that was three years ago when he first moved in after being appointed as the Chief Minister.

He had then told the people that it would only be on a temporary basis and that he would move back once the renovations and repairs were carried out. Well, this portal would like to remind the DAP zombies that he has lied.

He is still staying in the same rented bungalow. All paid for by taxpayers! Is it because all the expenses-paid bungalow is more comfortable than the official residence?

So far, he has avoided questions about his residence, evading questions about the expenses.

The bungalow at affluent Pinhorn Road at the Green Lane area, which the CM is staying, is worth RM2.5million and that was the valuation in 2009.

By now, it’s probably worth over RM3million, so do your maths and figure out how much the rentals would run to!

Stop The Lies has been informed that the renovation work was carried out in February 2009 which cost RM1.5million. It is surprising that the owner would spend so much to renovate the bungalow.

Guan Eng moved out from the official residence in Macalister Road in June 2009 when the renovations were in full progress, promising to move back but we all know how often DAP leaders lied. It’s already three years and our dear leader hasn’t move back.

We are told the reason why Guan Eng has refused to move back is because the bungalow belongs to a middle-aged woman from Malacca, who is said to be a crony of Betty Chew, the wife of the CM.

The RM8,000 monthly rental is paid for by the rakyat and that excludes his electricity, water and Astro bills!

Guan Eng should explain to the people why is he still staying in the bungalow after three years. How long must the people pay for his luxury?

We also know that his “fly economy class” image is a stunt. He flies economy class between Penang and Kuala Lumpur but he is not telling the DAP zombies that he prefers First Class when he goes overseas!

He also travels to Hong Kong monthly, according to our records, supposedly to meet businessmen! To collect what????

He has claimed he is “upgraded” by MAS! Come on, if he often travel Economy Class as he claims, he wouldn’t be able to chalk up enough points to be upgraded to business class.

Stop bullshitting!

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

So imagine the outcry for suggesting 750K in funeral funds by LGE for LGE, by asking the BN (PR’s supposed sworn enemies) to ratify the 750K funeral bill. How greedy can LGE get?

ARTICLE 4

Loose Lips Sink Ships – Posted on April 13, 2012 by editor

LGE should learn to do this more often

There is a saying “loose lips sink ships”. Perhaps Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should better start being acquainted with the phrase.

The idiom definition for the phrase says to have loose lips means to have a big mouth, susceptible to talking about everything and everyone.

Sinking ships refers to anything from small acquaintances to long and hearty relationships (with friends or a significant other). So when one says loose lips sink ships, one is basically saying if you can’t shut up, you are going to end hurting people, usually psychologically or emotionally.

And that was exactly what has happened when Guan Eng threatened to stop allocations for schools which subscribe to Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian.

This is a serious remark, coming from the head of the state, and it is no joke or laughing matter to utter those words and then claim either you have been misquoted or that it was made in jest.

Guan Eng must remind himself that he is no longer the Opposition head when he makes remarks or comments on issues as he is now the Chief Minister.

After the March 2008 general election, he is still caught in a “transitional” problem of adjusting himself to be the administrator of a state and no longer a mere leader of a political party.

The DAP secretary-general was quoted by Sin Chew Daily as saying that schools in Penang should not continue subscribing the two Malay dailies, otherwise the state government would stop allocating funds to them.

He made the remark when speaking to 84 representatives from various schools.

He was quoted as saying “Schools must not subscribe to Utusan Malaysia. If they insist on doing so, there will be no allocation for you all next year.”

“I am serious. Do not subscribe to Utusan and Berita Harian,” he was quoted as saying.

It is very obvious that Guan Eng’s remarks tantamount to threatening the schools concerned.

The threats are uncalled for. It smacks of racism and high handedness. It is unbecoming as a Chief Minister to hurl threats to schools who subscribes to the two newspapers of their choice.

Just because he is the Chief Minister, he can’t go around imposing his likes and dislikes onto others.

Perhaps he should sponsor copies of other Malays newspapers he deemed fit rather than to threaten schools into submitting to his request.

If he has any issues with the two newspapers, he should fight his own battle, and not get schools involved. This is getting a bit way too far.

He should leave politics within the perimeters of the political front and not politicize issues and bringing it to the doorsteps of the education arena.

Politics should be set aside for the larger interest of education and it should not be allowed to fester within the educational premises.

Guan Eng’s threats run contrary to the freedom of speech as advocated by the Opposition.

In disbursing government allocation, Guan Eng should be sincere about it and not use it to force the political ideologies on schools.

It is worse still and unacceptable when he threatens schools into submitting to his wishes and fancies.

Disbursing of funds should be carried out in all sincerity without imposing conditions or using strong arm tactics.

Guan Eng, it is no joke or laughing matter when you open your mouth and say that you would stop allocation to schools.

Buck up and grow up.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The CM of supposedly Chinese Penang has only 1 thing to do. End Apartheid. Not host dinners, fly around to Australia and prevent would be politicians from entering DAP or local politics because they’ve got a nepotism and shameless term limitless family bloc Xian fundo b.s. thing going on there. Detestable little men tend to not use nepotism granted CM’s mandates to end APARTHEID, but do ask for 750K funerals from their sworn enemies who put their fathers into Kamunting instead are unprincipled and shamelessly thick skinned! They had half a mind to kill these 2 nepotistic term limitless DAP 4th world style ‘family-business style politicians’, and now they are in the Dewan asking for 750K funeral funds which the taxpayer paid? How 2-faced can a politician get? How can anyone who thinks this way be trusted? And then look at the massive failures to keep campaign promises that helped them win. All forgotten? Go flying around on taxpayers fund now while disregarding Bumi-Apartheid?

ARTICLE 5

An open letter to our young undergrads — Tay Tian Yan – April 18, 2012

APRIL 18 — Dear undergrads,

I saw you occupy Dataran Merdeka and could feel your high-spirited youthfulness.

I have no objection to your “occupy” campaign. From Wall Street to Jalan Sultan, indeed young people should step out of their classrooms to taste the sunshine and rain.

It doesn’t have to be that tough, after all. With an iPhone or iPad in your hands, you could stay in touch on Twitter or Facebook, sharing with your followers or friends the amazing nasi kandar you’ve savoured just across the street from Dataran Merdeka or perhaps a photo you snapped with some curious tourists.

So, I will never worry that you would get bored or exhausted at the Dataran Merdeka.

But I just wonder what the real significance of occupying the Dataran is.

I did not hear any anti-Lynas or anti-corruption slogans, or anything against UiTM’s rejection of non-Bumiputera students nor about the pathetic academic standards of our universities today.

All you wanted is free tertiary education and the writing off of PTPTN arrears.

I even saw a “PTPTN, the big loan shark” placard hoisted under the sultry sun over the Dataran.

I couldn’t help but laugh: All that you want is just so simple.

But have you ever thought about this: If everything is free of charge, where does the money come from? And if you can default on your loans, who would extend the loans to you?

Since you are all university students, I assume you have learned some economics before, right? Don’t you remember there is something called “costing” in economics? For anything offered free of charge to you, someone else have to foot the bill.

Your lecturer could have told you, and economics guru Milton Friedman most definitely said it before, that nothing comes free under the sun.

And this costing concept applies very well to all of you.

Tuition fees at the country’s government universities have been heavily subsidised and are among the cheapest in this world.

Your RM7,000 to RM8,000 annual tuition fees are just about a third of private college tuition fees here, a fifth of those in Australia’s public universities, one-sixth of America’s, and one-eighth of Britain’s.

Your parents should take delight in the fact that some other people are helping them pay the tuition fees so that they can keep their retirement funds largely intact.

What I am trying to say is that the cheap tuition fees are most definitely not a Godsend. The government has to dig into taxpayers’ pockets to subsidise your education, including mine.

If you come from a poor family, sure enough, I am more than willing to contribute my part to help. But there are so many of you who come from well-to-do families and yet enjoy the heavily slashed tuition fees.

Not to mention the PTPTN loans, where our government has been excessively generous by offering full loans at a mere one per cent interest rate. (If this is what you call loan shark, I would love to take a loan from you).

Given the fact that Bank Negara’s overnight lending rate is three per cent, the remaining two per cent (could be a lot more if we factor in the inflation) has to be sourced from somewhere (the government? not really, but the generously taxed uncles and aunties).

I don’t mind contributing that two per cent. I see it as my national obligation. But you refuse to pay up when you graduate from school someday in the future, and the PTPTN cannot just close shop this way. So, we taxpayers are once again come under the axe.

You are actually well aware that university education is never free, even in cash-rich Western countries. Many students there have to take up part-time jobs or bank loans before they can attend their classes.

You don’t need a part-time job or a bank loan to finance your studies here. You don’t even need to step into the lecture hall; just sit at the Dataran to protest against “I don’t know what”!

Perhaps the Dataran should be occupied by the uncles and aunties who subsidise your studies. We have a whole lot more valid reasons to occupy the square. — mysinchew.com

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Dear me Tay Tian. Degrees ARE free, especially those not in ‘technical fields’. ALL degrees numbering scores to hundreds from Sociology type degrees, all languages and various paperwork based fields DO NOT NEED a single cent to teach or learn (though a minimum wage from government would be good). See the Democracy Tree in Malaysia? See the Bodhi Tree where Buddha gained enlightenment and gave sermons (no gold plated statues or donation boxes for ‘building temples’ there, just alms bowls)? Even the quasi fundo Luddites taking classes on ‘Animal Husbandry’ in their barns could subsume the Veterinary degree which costs a few 100Ks – a child on the right farm, could deliver or treat any animal just as well . . . without spending a cent on education. ALL EDUCATION of the non-technical sort (i.e. needing advanced equipment) is FREE. So don’t pretend MOST education costs anything – especially contractors and suppliers and manufacturers dependent on HANDOUTS of taxpayer monies for their living at extremely inflated prices that feed a large number of middlemen (shame on you contractors and law writers that cause parasitic loopholes in laws that are never amended).

How costly can holding a class under a tree or perhaps a scenic spot be now? NOTHING AT ALL. Maybe hundreds of people could be taught in a single session, to get a ‘degree’ because of microphones which cost very little. Even MEDICINE could be taught in such places. Do we need to pay anything for unneeded buildings? The odd plaque or monument? The security guards and gardeners and drivers ON taxpayer paid salaries? Uniforms? The free transport AND meal subsidies which AGAIN taxpayers have to pay? I’d rather have no building and free degree than a building and a degree that costs half a lifetime of work to return – ON INTEREST to boot . . .

**THAT METHOD OF EDUCATION IS NOT WEALTH CREATION, THAT IS WEALTH RE-DISTRIBUTION IN THE WRONG MANNER THAT ENRICHES SOME CITIZENS OVER OTHERS!!!**

Admit the fact that a degree is a mere toll booth or protection fee to *be allowed to work* in an cubicle or office, and stop being aq shill for government collusion to defraud the citizens from what should be free. All a government needs to do is to assign empty land, grow some shady trees, recognize the lecturer FOR FREE, then register all students who attend the class. Or hold those classes in the car park during work hours . . . Work place conditions will be entirely unrelated anyway so the degree doesn’t matter, what the lecturers teach matters more – and we do not need super-duper-POOPER scale salaries to glorify Senior Lecturers, ‘Deans’ and all manner of Chancellor Emeritus hierarcies *AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE* WITH fat pensions on the taxpayers backs AGAIN. Voters, if you are not working in government, make sure you vote for an MP who at least is even able to understand the above or YOUR tax monies will enrich some glorified crony or relative who will be promoted due to nepotism, no matter how distant the relation.

The whole point of Uni or school is to SOCIALIZE the people into being able to work in close quarters and in a team. NOTHING else. Skills can be LEARNT even by children. Want to see a 7 year old mechanic? Want to see a 10 year old surgeon? 5 year old pharmacy dispenser? These ‘jobs’ do not need ‘degrees’. These skills are FREE to learn.

A degree does not cost the price of 1-10 units of low cost housing. Heck better rather buy a handful of these units and become a slumlord or some land estate owner that produces REAL GOODS, than enrich the government’s crony contractors to *validate* with a piece of paper called a degree in a jobs market (after getting paid to build useless – and not necessarily stable – buildings on the taxpayer’s funds) as biased and uncertain as this when master slave mentality typifies employer employee relations. Call this civilisation?

We call this creating a financial trap to enrich the bankers WITH so-called ‘education’ as bait. Not a cent or work hour for the plutocracy. And redistribute the wealth or the extreme plutocrats or extreme quantum landowners. We do not need half a lifetime to pay for a degree, and another half to pay for a glorified pigeoncoop condo or rabbit-hutch terrace, or a ‘duplex’ (half -a-house) which leaves the next generation in another cycle where inflation lowers both earnings and quality of life to the social immobility and inflation nations they call modern living that ultimately only enriches the banking cartels and IMF world bank type Freemason cultists or other Fundo faithers. Tay Tian wants to dampen high-spirited youthfulness more like, by protecting the failure of an ‘establishment’, in this case the educational profiteering establishment.

One of the protesters with debt-condemning placard at the anti-PTPTN protests. Tertiary education is a human right and should be free. MPs, do not betray our youth to the banksters and Ministry debt slave machines, or we will vote you out by GE13!

Voters, in this sort of case, make sure that your MP candidate or incumbent will make education free. Ask and find out if your MP wants to make education free. Otherwise no votes for that MP. If there is no MP that will do this, run for election instead. Vote wisely young voters (and also don’t over populate – 2.1 is best for maintenance without increasing population density . . . ) :

BN Inequality and corruption forever.
PR = Chance at equality but much Nepotism.
3rd Force = Very likely Equality (there is nothing for 3rd Force to run on except Equality and anti-Nepotism).

BN, don’t be a dingus use that mandate and end the Apartheid of Bumiputera . . . also if peaceful Tibetans burn themselves to protest apartheid, guess what warlike Mongols do to to people who blow up their kin – PM Najib needs that Pmship more than the Rakyat does IMHO, so how about making Malaysia a first world, UNHCR compliant nation that best applies the tenets of Islam Surah An Nisa 4:75 at least ( . . . and saving Najib who will be vulnerable without the time and protection of a PMship . . . )?

A state-owned Chinese tabloid adopted a mocking tone as India entered the small club of nations with intercontinental nuclear weapons capabilities yesterday by test-firing a rocket that can reach Beijing and eastern Europe.

Footage showed the Agni V with a range of more than 5,000km blasting through clouds from an island off the east coast. Named after the Hindu god of fire, it is the crowning achievement of a programme developed primarily with a threat from China in mind.

The official response from Beijing was measured, with China’s foreign ministry saying the two countries should “work hard to uphold friendly strategic co-operation”. But the Global Times, owned by the Chinese Communist Party’s main mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, struck a less conciliatory tone, saying India was being swept up by “missile delusion”. “India should not overestimate its strength,” it said before the launch, which was delayed by a day because of bad weather.

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For throwing negativism at an immediate neighbour, this tabloid should have self-identified to all watchers as a propagandist outfit. Could all propaganda outfits be closed down by Indian and Chinese sides AFTER being branded and identified to the people as such (i.e. list of reasons before shut down of the offending domains would be good). BRICS is obviously a single and growing group able to ensure citizen freedoms via multipolarism, preventing hegemony. All in appropriate government departments should act quickly against such media portals. Methinks a low level political spat is in the works. BRICS ensures a multipolar world that should not be destroyed by 1 irresponsible state owned tabloid which doubtless could well already be influenced by foreign powers intent on breaking up BRICS. This article also demogogues via the title. China DOES NOT mock. The state owned tabloid’s editors (much less the owner?) are the mockers.

HONG KONG, April 9 — Hypnotherapist Dick Yu has a mission that seems unthinkable to some Hong Kong people: he wants to make the Asian financial hub’s seven million residents laugh.

“Hong Kong people don’t laugh because they are under constant pressure to make more money, to make life better,” says Yu, who has founded 11 Laughter Clubs in the southern Chinese city since 2007.

“People get worried easily because housing is so expensive, the cost of living is getting higher and people are concerned about whether they can keep their job.”

The 35-year-old trained hypnotherapist set up Hong Kong’s first laughter club in 2007, after he discovered the concept of laughter yoga — made popular as an exercise routine by Indian physician Madan Kataria in 1995.

Since then hundreds of heavy-hearted Hong Kong residents have signed up for the free classes, a sign, experts say, of the city’s underlying health and social problems.

“When you laugh, you’re happier, you become positive and everything else will become better,” Yu says after a one-hour laughing session in a park.

“Ho ho, ha ha ha,” the group of 30 students recite. They combine the exercise with deep yogic breathing, give each other high-fives, clap and waddle like penguins, all in the name of laughter.

The fake laughter very soon breaks into the real thing, demonstrating one of the core principles of laughter yoga: Laughter has physiological benefits whether it is fake or real.

As the adage “laughter is the best medicine” goes, researchers credit belly laughs as a recipe for a healthy heart. It helps expand blood vessel linings to increase blood flow, reduces stress hormones and boosts the immune system.

A British study last year showed 15 minutes of laughter increased the level of pain tolerance by around 10 per cent, as the action helps to trigger the release of endorphins, the body’s naturally produced pain killers.

“It was a bit awkward in the beginning when we tried to fake the laughter with the ‘ho ho, ha ha ha’, but after a while you can tell the difference and you feel more relaxed,” said Kaman Wong at one of Yu’s classes.

The 37-year-old student joined the laughter club two years ago when he was a supervisor at a food processing firm.

“The work was stressful. There was a lot of overtime work, I had to deal with many workers. If anything went wrong I was responsible, but I’ve learned how to laugh away all the stress,” he says.

But on top of his work problems, he said the pressure-cooker atmosphere of Hong Kong itself was getting him down.

“Everyone is like a balloon that is about to explode in Hong Kong. If you smile at me, I wouldn’t know how to react to that. I think there are just a lot of barriers among Hong Kongers that we need to break,” he says.

Social scientists say the laughter club boom highlights the stress issue faced by many residents of a densely populated city which groans under extremes of inequality, soaring property prices and cramped living spaces.

The number of people seeking psychiatric treatment at Hong Kong’s public hospitals leapt 20 percent between 2007 and 2011 to 184,087, according to the Hospital Authority.

Hong Kong’s suicide rate rose from 11.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 1990 to 14.6 in 2009, World Health Organization figures show. That’s higher than in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, but lower than South Korea.

Paul Yip, director of the University of Hong Kong’s Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, says material success means more to many Hong Kong residents than physical well being.

“Hong Kong is a very fast-paced society. People walk fast… They have to work long hours not because it is their choice but because they have to survive,” he says.

Sky-high property prices fuelled by the entry of rich mainland Chinese tycoons into the local market mean families often have to squeeze into tiny apartments.

“Even if you’re not happy, you have nowhere to go,” Yip says.

In other words, Hong Kong is fertile ground for laughing guru Yu, who hopes to set up branches of his club all over the city.

“The laughter club should be like a convenience store, which you have in every community. If everyone is laughing, the society will be happier,” he says.

“I hope there are more laughing ambassadors in Hong Kong to spread joy and laughter to everyone.” — AFP/Relaxnews

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What an idiot and idiotic mindset the article promotes. Vote properly for MPs who will change bad laws not laugh (as the Hokkien say ‘Chio Lan‘ or ‘Laugh Dick’, right before they can the a$$es of the slithery sniggerers out to sabotage everyone . . . ). If not run for election as independent candidates intent on bettering the system. Laughing won’t change ANYTHING but ‘waste’ energy that will be needed to effect change. This is a strawman NGO who cements helplessness via unhelpful laughter. Shameless 1%ter posing as someone useful. Instead of direct propaganda, they now presume to manipulate emotional realities where truth is esconced – ORGANIC EMOTIONS not contrived laughter. If you’re sad this is the way you will be made aware that something is seriously wrong in society or a relationship. Gratuitous Ra-ra feel goodism, much like Foodie-ism in supposed religious festivals, is plain destructive of an already suffering people or followers. Who are these straw-men and straw-women distracting us from? POLITICIANS who refuse to change the system or amend laws!

Bad feelings and stress are a barometer to tell you when something is wrong. By ‘learning’ to laugh when inappropriately positioned to, much like that ‘Amma’ wmoron hugs mindlessly in Malaysia, Mankind (in Hongkong at least where the foolish and mediocre actually join this nonsesne) are impoverished in the accuracy and expression of heart. Life is serious and hard work is needed not helpless and insane laughter. Mankind has MANY battles, and here we have laughing fools trained by the probably the West and NWO out to destroy the severe work ethic of the Chinese through Hong Kong. This Dick shames the Yu family and his ancestors. This is a very wicked and subversive thing to do to fellow citizens. Well there will always be fools. Instead of building, some idiots will always tear down instead. Some Maoist re-education needs to be done here before this socialised poison, with that thread of idiocracy stemming from some ungodly propaganda intent media funded by Orwellian government. Chinese leaders will be ambassadors for their culture and pride for nation NOT the morasss of commonality in laughter.

Much like the ‘Clowning’ NLP/meme was fostered against USA’s black community to weaken the Afro-American’s resolve from revolution for the RNA (Republic of New Africa) for true equality and human rights . . . next ‘Fooling’ and finally FOOLS will be Hongkonger’s imprint rather than something greater. What chance do fools have in life? This is where laughter leadsm dissolution . . . Vote properly for MPs who will change bad laws. If not run for election as independent candidates intent on bettering the system. Laughing won’t change ANYTHING, voting out oligarchs, nepotists, citizen destroying bad politicians that refuse to amend laws will . . .

The face of Orwellian idiocracy and mediocrity in Hong Kong. Mindless followers led by the above appropriately named dick, Dick Yu . . .

The face of Malaysia's Orwellian stooge . . . note the neo-Illuminist meme based on the subversion of meanderings of REAL minds intent on REAL change . . . an entire non-career built on parasitization and nepotism . . .